Safety calls around lifts and engines
Workshop accidents happen when something moves and someone did not expect it. Japanese workshops handle this with short calls said before the action, loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.
Say the call even when you think nobody is close. A colleague under the next car may be out of your sight, and the call costs you a second.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| リフトを上げます。 | Rifuto o agemasu. | Raising the lift. |
| リフトを下げます。離れてください。 | Rifuto o sagemasu. Hanarete kudasai. | Lowering the lift. Stand clear. |
| エンジンをかけます。 | Enjin o kakemasu. | Starting the engine. |
| エンジンを切ってください。 | Enjin o kitte kudasai. | Please turn off the engine. |
| 輪止めをしました。 | Wadome o shimashita. | The wheel chocks are in. |
| 危ない！止めて！ | Abunai! Tomete! | Look out! Stop it! |
| 火気厳禁 | kaki genkin | No open flames (a sign you will see) |
Parts and tools you will be asked for
Most parts have katakana names borrowed from English, which helps, but they are said with Japanese vowels and rhythm. Burēki paddo sounds very different from brake pads, and a colleague listening for the Japanese version may not catch the English one.
The Japanese words that are not katakana are the ones about the work itself: inspection, replacement, estimate. They come up in every conversation, so learn them early.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 車検 | shaken | The statutory vehicle inspection |
| 点検 | tenken | Inspection, check-up |
| 部品 | buhin | Parts |
| 工具 | kōgu | Tools |
| 交換 | kōkan | Replacement |
| 見積もり | mitsumori | Estimate, quote |
| タイヤ交換 | taiya kōkan | Tyre change |
| オイル交換 | oiru kōkan | Oil change |
| ブレーキパッド | burēki paddo | Brake pads |
| 取り外す・取り付ける | torihazusu, toritsukeru | To remove, to fit |
Confirming instructions: sides, numbers and torque
Instructions often come while your senior is pointing, and the details that go wrong are the side of the car, the number of parts and how tight something should be. Repeat those back as a short question. In Japanese workplaces this is normal practice, not a sign that your Japanese is weak.
Left and right are easy to confuse on a car. Many workshops say driver's side and passenger's side instead, and in Japan the driver's side is usually the right.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| このボルトはどのくらい締めますか。 | Kono boruto wa dono kurai shimemasu ka. | How tight should this bolt be? |
| 規定トルクで締めました。 | Kitei toruku de shimemashita. | I tightened it to the specified torque. |
| 前輪ですか、後輪ですか。 | Zenrin desu ka, kōrin desu ka. | Front wheels or rear wheels? |
| 運転席側 | untenseki-gawa | Driver's side |
| 助手席側 | joshuseki-gawa | Passenger's side |
| 四本とも交換ですね。 | Yonhon tomo kōkan desu ne. | All four get replaced, right? |
| すみません、もう一度お願いします。 | Sumimasen, mō ichido onegai shimasu. | Sorry, once more, please. |
| やって見せていただけますか。 | Yatte misete itadakemasu ka. | Could you show me? |
Reporting what you find
Japanese workplaces put a lot of weight on reporting early, a habit often called hōrensō. In a workshop that means telling your senior about a worn part, a leak or a problem with the job before you carry on, not after.
Lost bolts and dropped tools belong in the same category. Saying so at once is expected; finding out later is what causes trouble.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ブレーキパッドがかなり減っています。 | Burēki paddo ga kanari hette imasu. | The brake pads are quite worn. |
| オイルが漏れています。 | Oiru ga morete imasu. | Oil is leaking. |
| 走行中に異音がするそうです。 | Sōkōchū ni ion ga suru sō desu. | The customer says there is a strange noise while driving. |
| 部品の在庫がありません。 | Buhin no zaiko ga arimasen. | The part is not in stock. |
| ボルトを一本なくしてしまいました。 | Boruto o ippon nakushite shimaimashita. | I have lost one bolt. |
| 作業が終わりました。確認お願いします。 | Sagyō ga owarimashita. Kakunin onegai shimasu. | The job is done. Please check it. |
At the counter with customers
Even if you never explain a price, you may be the first person a customer meets. A greeting, a question about why they came, and a polite promise to look after the car cover most first contacts.
When the conversation moves to cost, repair decisions or complaints, fetch the person in charge. Knowing that moment is part of the job, and saying so politely is better than guessing.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| いらっしゃいませ。本日はどうされましたか。 | Irasshaimase. Honjitsu wa dō saremashita ka. | Welcome. What can we do for you today? |
| お車をお預かりします。 | O-kuruma o o-azukari shimasu. | We will look after your car. |
| お見積もりをお出しします。 | O-mitsumori o o-dashi shimasu. | We will give you an estimate. |
| 作業は二時間ほどかかります。 | Sagyō wa nijikan hodo kakarimasu. | The work will take about two hours. |
| 担当の者を呼んでまいります。 | Tantō no mono o yonde mairimasu. | I will fetch the person in charge. |
The last line is the most useful one on the list. It is polite, it is honest, and it gets the customer to someone who can answer.
A first-month plan for the workshop
The Japanese you need grows with the jobs you are given, so learn it in the same order as the work rather than from a general textbook.
- Week one: the lift, engine and stop calls, said aloud every day.
- Week two: the katakana names of the parts you handle most, in Japanese pronunciation.
- Week three: confirming sides, quantities and torque as short questions.
- Week four: reporting worn parts, leaks and problems, and the counter greetings.
- Every day: write down one word you did not understand and ask about it before you go home.
Unihongo's pronunciation lab helps with katakana part names like burēki: its long vowel focus drills and scores the vowel length and mora timing that make these words sound like Japanese rather than English.