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There is no tipping custom in Japan. You don't have to pay any extra money at the hotel, restaurant or to the taxi drivers.

To get a place to sleep, it's always better to make a reservation and to check what time you can check-in. In some hotels, it's in the late afternoon like 3 or 4pm.

When you leave the restaurant, you normally pay at the cash register near the entrance, not at your table.

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So, let's start!

Welcome. How many persons? - Irasshaimase. Nan-mei-sama desuka?

*6 persons. - Roku-mei desu.

*4 persons. - Yo-nin desu.

*2 adults and 1 child. - Otona futari to kodomo hitori desu.

(-nin: _persons

-mei: _persons (sounds more formal)

irasshaimase: welcome (polite)

-sama: prefix for a person (more polite than "san")

otona: adult

kodomo: child

_ to _: _ and _)

Basic Rules:

Number of persons:

-nin: number + nin (except for 1 & 2). 4 is pronounced "yo".

Examples: hitori (1), futari (2), san-nin (3), yo-nin (4), go-nin (5)

-mei: number + mei

Examples: ichi-mei (1), ni-mei (2), san-mei (3), yon-nin (4)

Polite form:

In Japan, it is said that "the customer is god.". Every sales person speaks polite language to their customers.

You may not have a chance to speak in that way, but you need to understand what they are saying.

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Do you have a single room? - Singuru rūmu wa ari masuka?

*Double rooms are full. - Daburu rūmu wa manshitsu desu.

*Dormitory room is for 4 persons. - Aibeya wa yonin-yō desu.

*In twin rooms, there are 2 beds. - Tsuin rūmu niwa beddo ga futatsu ari masu.

(_wa ari masuka?: Do you have_?

singuru rūmu: single room / daburu rūmu: double room / tsuin rūmu: twin room / aibeya: dormitory room

manshitsu: full

-yō: for the use of_ (otona-yō :for adults, kodomo-yō :for children)

beddo: bed

futatsu: 2 (things))

Basic Rules:

Counting things:

In Japanese, different suffixes are attached to indicate the number of particular things.

Examples: 3 nin (3 persons), 2 mai (2 thin objects), 4 hiki (4 animals)

In this chapter, you will learn the most common way of counting things which can be used for almost everything.

1 to 10 are as follows. For more quantity, you can just say the number without preffix.

*1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (things) - hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu, yottsu, itsutsu, muttsu, nanatsu,yattsu, kokonotsu, tō

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How long will you stay? - Nan-nichi-kan otomari desuka?

*I'll stay for 3 days. - Mikka-kan tomari masu.

*I'll stay 2 nights. - ni-haku shi masu.

*I'll stay one more night. - Mō ip-paku shi masu.

(nan-nichi-kan: how many days?

tomaru: to stay

suru: to do

-haku: _overnight stay

ip-paku (1 night), ni-haku (2 nights), san-paku (3), yon-paku (4), go-haku (5), rop-paku (6), nana-haku (7), hap-paku (8), kyu-haku (9), jup-paku (10)... nan-paku? (how many nights?)

mō: more (mō ip-paku:one more night))

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How much for a night? - Ip-paku ikura desuka? 

*Breakfast included? - Chōshoku tsuki desuka? 

*Is there a fare for a child? - Kodomo ryōkin wa ari masuka? 

*When should I pay? - Shiharai wa itsu desuka? 

(ikura: how much (price)?

chōshoku: breakfast (sounds more formal than "asagohan")

_tsuki: attached, included

ryōkin: fare (kodomo ryōkin: fare for a child)

waribiki: discount (gakusei waribiki: student discount)

shiharai: payment)

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*Is there a shower in the room? - Heya ni shawā wa ari masuka? 

*Toilet and shower are shared. - Toire to shawā wa kyōyō desu. 

*There are coin-washers on the 3rd floor. - Koin randorii wa san-kai ni arimasu. 

*Where there is the switch of air conditioner? - Eakon no suicchi wa doko ni ari masuka? 

(aru: there is

heya: room

- ni: in, at (place)

shawā: shower

kyōyō: shared, for common use

Koin randorii: coin operated washing machine

shokudō: dining room

-kai: floor

ik-kai (1st), ni-kai (2nd), san-kai (3rd)... nan-kai (which floor?)

eakon: air conditioner

- no: of_

suicchi: switch

doko ni?: at where?)

Basic Rules:

there is_:

Affirmative: ari masu (present) / ari mashita (past)

Negative: ari masen (present) / ari masendeshita (past)

Question: ari masuka? (present) / ari mashitaka? (past)

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Which is the cheapest room? - Ichiban yasui heya wa dore desuka?

*Can you show me the room? - Heya o misete moraemasuka?

*Do you have a bigger room? - Motto ōkii heya wa ari masuka?

*The 3rd floor is quieter than the 1st floor. - San-kai wa ik-kai yori shizuka desu.

*I'll take this room. - Kono heya ni shimasu.

(ichiban: the most, number one

yasui: cheap / takai: expensive

dore: which

miseru: show (misete moraemasuka?: Can you show me?)

motto: more

ōkii: big / chiisai: small

_yori: than_

shizuka: quiet / urusai: noisy

_ni shimasu: I'll take...)

Basic Rules:

Superlative = ichiban + adjectives or adverbs

Examples: Kore ga ichiban ōkii desu. (This is the largest.), Koko ga ichiban shizuka desu. (Here is the most quiet.)

Comparative = _yori + adjectives or adverbs

Examples: Kore wa are yori ōkii desu. (This is larger than that.), Koko wa asoko yori shizuka desu. (Here is more quiet than over there.)

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Can I take your order? - Gochūmon wa okimari desuka?

*Order please. - Chūmon o onegaishimasu.

*3 tendon please. - Tendon o mittsu onegaishimasu.

(chūmon: order

tendon: tempura bowl

mittsu: 3)

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What is in it? - Nani ga hai tte imasuka?

*Fish is not in it. - Sakana wa hai tte imasen.

*Without wasabi please. - Wasabi nuki de onegaishimasu.

*What's the taste like? - Donna aji desuka?

(hai tte iru: be contained

sakana: fish

wasabi: green horseradish paste

_nuki: without_

donna: how? what kind of?

aji: taste

amai: sweet / shoppai: salty / karai: hot, spicy / nigai: bitter)

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*Where is this? - Yasai dake no ryōri wa ari masuka? 

*I don't eat meat and seafood. - Watashi wa niku to shiifūdo o tabe masen. 

*Egg and dairy products are OK. - Tamago to nyū seihin wa daijōbu desu. 

*Can you cook only with vegetables? - Yasai dake de tsuku tte moraemasuka? 

(yasai: vegetables

dake: only

ryōri: dishes, cuisine, food

niku: meat / shiifūdo: seafood

tamago: egg / nyū seihin: dairy products

daijōbu: all right

tsukuru: to make, to cook (tsukutte moraemasuka?: Can you cook?))

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*How about drinks? - Onomimono wa ikaga desuka? 

*Yes, 2 coffee please. - Hai, kōhii o futatsu onegaishimasu. 

*No, thanks. - Iie, kekkō desu. 

*All right. Please wait for a moment. - Kashikomarimashita. Shōshō omachi kudasaimase. 

(nomimono: drinks

ikaga desuka?: how about?, what about?, how is? (polite)

kōhii: coffee / kōcha: English tea / orenji jūsu: orange juice

Iie, kekkō desu: No, thanks.

"kekkō" can mean both positive and negative response, like English "fine". Better to put "hai (yes)" or "iie (no)" in front to make it .)

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Extra arrangements - Mochikaeri wa dekimasuka?

*Is it possible to have extra large helping? - Ōmori wa dekimasuka?

*Extra large helping costs 100 yen extra. - Ōmori wa hyaku-en mashi desu.

*We are sorry. We can not do the home delivery. - Mōshiwake gozaimasen. Takuhai wa dekimasen.

(dekimasuka?: Can you? Is it possible?

mochikaeri: take-away

ōmori: extra large helping (of food)

-en: _yen

_mashi: increase, extra

mōshiwake gozaimasen: I'm sorry. (polite)

takuhai: home delivery)

Basic Rules:

dekiru: can, possible

Affirmative: dekimasu (present) / dekimashita (past)

Negative: dekimasen (present) / dekimasendeshita (past)

Question: dekimasuka? (present) / dekimashitaka? (past)

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Can I use credit card? - Kurejitto kādo wa tsukae masuka? 

*Cash only. - Genkin dake desu. 

*Can I pay? - Kaikei o onegaishimasu. 

*Thank you. Please come again. - Arigato gozaimashita. Mata okoshi kudasaimase. 

(kurejitto kādo: credit card

tsukau: to use (tsukae masuka?: Can I use?)

genkin: cash

kaikei: payment

Mata okoshi kudasaimase: Please come again. (polite))

Basic Rules:

tsukae ru:

Affirmative: tsukae masu (present) / tsukae mashita (past)

Negative: tsukae masen (present) / tsukae masendeshita (past)

Question: tsukae masuka? (present) / tsukae mashitaka? (past)

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