Back in 2008 we had a regular contributor, Kaho, whose first language was Japanese. She wrote many posts with helpful information about commonly used and needed Japanese expressions, often added to the ends of her posts about shopping. We’re turning her “Japanese Corner” tidbits into posts of their own so that you can hopefully feel more comfortable beginning to use what is likely still a foreign language for many of you.
ORIGINALLY CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO in February 2008
Kaho’s Japanese Corner: Phrases To Use When Ordering Food
“I don’t need a raw egg.”
Nama tamago, irimasen.
Nama = raw.
Tamago = egg.
Irimasen = don’t need
“Do you have a cooked egg (instead)?”
(Kawari ni) yude tamago arimasuka?
Kawari ni = instead
Yude = boiled
Arimasu ka = is there?
Irimasen and Arimasuka are very useful. Meredith already explained about “arimasuka” in her post about “Yuzu Tea”. If you haven’t read that one, please go and check it out!
Irimasen can be used in many situations. If you buy a bento box (lunch box), usually a person at a cashier put chopsticks in a plastic bag with the box. If you don’t need them, you can say “irimasen”.
To take you to a more advanced Japanese level, you can use “kekko des” instead of “irimasen”. Japanese people will be very impressed! If irimasen is equivalent to “don’t need”, kekko des is more like “no thank you”.
“I don’t need a raw egg, thank you.”
Nama tamago, kekko des
Add some hand gesture and wave your hand just a little. Don’t you look so Japanese! 😛
Since I’m writing about food, there are two more words that I would like to add here.
They are “itadakimasu” and “gochiso sama“.
The literal translation of itadakimasu is “I’m going to eat the food you cooked.” You say this to thank the person who cooked. There is no direct translation of the word itadakimasu in English. I used to say “itadakimasu” often, but have fallen out of the habit; I should, even if I cook the meal myself.
The literal translation of “gochiso sama” is a combination of “It was a wonderful meal” and “thank you for your meal”. You say this at the end of the meal. You can say this to cooks like sushi chefs, managers and waiters/waitresses when you leave a restaurant.
Want to read more of these helpful Japanese language posts? Check them all out HERE.