Safety vocabulary first
The highest-priority vocabulary in this job is on the bottles. Cleaning chemicals carry warnings, and the most important one concerns mixing: combining certain cleaners produces chlorine gas, and the warning against it is printed prominently.
These words are worth learning as recognition vocabulary before anything else in this guide, because they are the ones with physical consequences.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| まぜるな危険 | mazeru na kiken | Danger: do not mix |
| 換気してください | kanki shite kudasai | Ventilate the area |
| 手袋を着用 | tebukuro o chakuyō | Wear gloves |
| 目に入った場合 | me ni haitta baai | If it gets in your eyes |
| 火気厳禁 | kaki genkin | No open flames |
| 取扱注意 | toriatsukai chūi | Handle with care |
Receiving instructions
Instructions are usually given quickly and often demonstrated, which is helpful. Asking for a demonstration is faster than asking for a repetition and is the normal way to resolve a misunderstanding in this kind of work.
The details worth confirming are order, frequency and areas: what to do first, how often, and which rooms are included.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| やって見せていただけますか。 | Yatte misete itadakemasu ka. | Could you show me? |
| どの部屋までですか。 | Dono heya made desu ka. | Which rooms are included? |
| 毎日ですか、週に一回ですか。 | Mainichi desu ka, shū ni ikkai desu ka. | Every day, or once a week? |
| この洗剤はどこに使いますか。 | Kono senzai wa doko ni tsukaimasu ka. | Where is this cleaner used? |
| 順番はこれで合っていますか。 | Junban wa kore de atte imasu ka. | Is this the right order? |
| 終わったら、どうすればいいですか。 | Owattara, dō sureba ii desu ka. | What should I do when I finish? |
Asking which cleaner goes where is worth doing explicitly. Using the wrong product on a surface is the commonest and most expensive mistake in this work.
Reporting damage and problems
This is the most important conversation in the job. Damage found in an area you are about to clean must be reported before you clean it, because afterwards the timeline is unclear and it may be attributed to you.
The report needs three things: what, where, and that it was already there when you arrived.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| すでに壊れていました。 | Sude ni kowarete imashita. | It was already broken. |
| 来た時から、こうなっていました。 | Kita toki kara, kō natte imashita. | It was like this when I arrived. |
| 写真を撮っておきました。 | Shashin o totte okimashita. | I have taken a photograph. |
| 報告させていただきます。 | Hōkoku sasete itadakimasu. | I would like to report it. |
| 私が割ってしまいました。申し訳ありません。 | Watashi ga watte shimaimashita. Mōshiwake arimasen. | I broke it. I am very sorry. |
| 備品が足りません。 | Bihin ga tarimasen. | We are short of supplies. |
Residents, guests and office staff
Encounters with the people whose space you are cleaning are short and follow a pattern: greet, apologise for the disturbance, offer to come back. Three phrases cover almost all of them.
In a hotel or an office the register is polite; in a residential building it is polite but warmer, since you will see the same people repeatedly.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| お邪魔しております。 | Ojama shite orimasu. | Excuse me for the disturbance. |
| 清掃中です。失礼いたします。 | Seisō-chū desu. Shitsurei itashimasu. | Cleaning in progress. Excuse me. |
| 後ほど伺いましょうか。 | Nochihodo ukagaimashō ka. | Shall I come back later? |
| 足元、お気をつけください。 | Ashimoto, oki o tsuke kudasai. | Please watch your step. |
| すぐ終わりますので。 | Sugu owarimasu node. | I will be finished shortly. |
| おはようございます。 | Ohayō gozaimasu. | Good morning. |
Warning about a wet floor is both a courtesy and a liability matter. Say it to anyone approaching an area you have just cleaned.
Equipment and supplies
The equipment vocabulary is small and mostly katakana, which makes it quick to learn. Knowing the names means you can ask for what you need rather than pointing.
Running out of something is worth reporting promptly rather than at the end of a shift, since supplies are usually ordered on a schedule.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| モップはどこにありますか。 | Moppu wa doko ni arimasu ka. | Where is the mop? |
| 掃除機の調子が悪いです。 | Sōjiki no chōshi ga warui desu. | The vacuum cleaner is not working properly. |
| ゴミ袋が切れました。 | Gomibukuro ga kiremashita. | We have run out of bin bags. |
| 洗剤を補充してください。 | Senzai o hojū shite kudasai. | Please restock the cleaner. |
| この鍵はどこの部屋ですか。 | Kono kagi wa doko no heya desu ka. | Which room is this key for? |
| 分別はどうすればいいですか。 | Bunbetsu wa dō sureba ii desu ka. | How should the rubbish be separated? |
The two conversations worth rehearsing
Most of this job is procedural, which means the language investment can be small and targeted. Two conversations are worth actually rehearsing rather than just reading.
The first is reporting damage, because it happens under mild pressure and you want the words to be exact. The second is the resident encounter, because it happens repeatedly and a warm, fluent version makes the job more pleasant.
Both are short enough to drill quickly with an AI Sensei in Unihongo's immersive 3D classroom, and both are spoken rather than written, which is why practising them aloud rather than reading them is what makes them available.
Learn the chemical warnings first, the damage report second, and everything else as it comes up. That order reflects the actual consequences.