These are the fifty Japanese phrases a visitor actually uses: how to get attention politely, ask for help, find the station, pay, order, handle an emergency and check into a hotel. Each one has romaji, a note on when to use it, and a Japanese voice at normal and slow speed, so you can say it a beat behind the audio before you need it for real. Print the sheet and it fits in a pocket.
In short
- すみません opens every request; ありがとうございます closes it. Those two plus pointing get you through most of a trip.
- Learn the ten phrases in the groups you will use most (directions, paying, ordering) by saying them out loud, not by reading them.
- ゆっくりお願いします (slowly, please) and 書いてもらえますか (could you write it down?) rescue any conversation that goes too fast.
The 50 phrases, by situation
Showing all 50 phrases.
The audio is a Japanese neural voice (Google Cloud text-to-speech), the same kind of voice FluencyTool uses, not a recording of a person. The slow version is the same clip at three quarters speed.
Greetings and politeness
すみません
sumimasen
Excuse me / sorry
Opens almost every request to a stranger or staff; also the "sorry" for a small bump.
ありがとうございます
arigatō gozaimasu
Thank you
The polite form. Plain ありがとう is for friends and children.
お願いします
onegaishimasu
Please (I ask this of you)
After pointing at something, handing over a form, or naming what you want.
こんにちは
konnichiwa
Hello (daytime)
Morning is おはようございます, evening is こんばんは. Shop staff greet you first; a nod back is enough.
失礼します
shitsurei shimasu
Excuse me (passing, entering, leaving)
When you squeeze past someone, step into a room or leave a conversation.
大丈夫です
daijōbu desu
I am fine / it is OK / no thanks
Declines a bag, a sample or help politely; also the answer to "are you all right?".
ごめんなさい
gomen nasai
I am sorry
A real apology, for example stepping on a foot. すみません covers small things.
Asking for help and understanding
英語を話せますか
eigo o hanasemasu ka
Do you speak English?
Ask this before switching to English. A common answer is すこし (a little).
わかりません
wakarimasen
I do not understand
Say すみません first and it sounds apologetic rather than blunt.
もう一度お願いします
mō ichido onegaishimasu
Once more, please
When you missed what was said. Staff repeat it slower on their own.
ゆっくりお願いします
yukkuri onegaishimasu
Slowly, please
Natural speed is fast. This one phrase makes most conversations possible.
書いてもらえますか
kaite moraemasu ka
Could you write it down?
Prices, station names, times. Hand over your phone or a notebook.
日本語があまり話せません
nihongo ga amari hanasemasen
I cannot speak much Japanese
Sets expectations early; people simplify what they say.
助けてください
tasukete kudasai
Please help me
For real trouble. For an ordinary question, すみません is the opener.
Directions and getting around
駅はどこですか
eki wa doko desu ka
Where is the station?
Swap 駅 for 出口 (exit), コンビニ or バス停 (bus stop).
トイレはどこですか
toire wa doko desu ka
Where is the toilet?
Stations, convenience stores and department stores all have free toilets.
新宿に行きたいです
Shinjuku ni ikitai desu
I want to go to Shinjuku
Show the place name on your phone and staff point you to the platform or bus.
この電車は東京に行きますか
kono densha wa Tōkyō ni ikimasu ka
Does this train go to Tokyo?
Ask on the platform before you board; express trains skip stations.
ここで止めてください
koko de tomete kudasai
Please stop here
In a taxi. The rear left door opens by itself.
切符を買いたいです
kippu o kaitai desu
I want to buy a ticket
At a counter. Ticket machines have an English button, and an IC card skips them entirely.
Shopping and paying
いくらですか
ikura desu ka
How much is it?
Prices are usually displayed; 税込 means tax included.
これをください
kore o kudasai
This one, please
Point at it. それ is the one near the other person, あれ the one over there.
カードで払えますか
kādo de haraemasu ka
Can I pay by card?
Small shops and some restaurants take cash only, so ask before ordering.
袋はいりません
fukuro wa irimasen
I do not need a bag
Bags cost a few yen and staff will ask. The question is 袋はご利用ですか.
レシートをください
reshīto o kudasai
A receipt, please
Often handed over without asking; useful for tax-free paperwork.
免税できますか
menzei dekimasu ka
Can I get this tax-free?
Bring your passport. Larger shops have a separate tax-free counter.
見ているだけです
mite iru dake desu
Just looking
When staff approach you in a shop. They will leave you to browse.
Restaurant basics
二人です
futari desu
Two people (a table for two)
At the door, with two fingers up. One person is 一人, three is 三人.
英語のメニューはありますか
eigo no menyū wa arimasu ka
Do you have an English menu?
Many places do, and photo menus are common. Pointing works everywhere.
おすすめは何ですか
osusume wa nan desu ka
What do you recommend?
When the answer comes, point at it and say これをください.
お水をください
omizu o kudasai
Water, please
Tap water is free and usually brought without asking.
卵アレルギーがあります
tamago arerugī ga arimasu
I am allergic to eggs
Swap in 小麦 (wheat), 乳製品 (dairy), 落花生 (peanuts), えび (shrimp).
お会計お願いします
okaikei onegaishimasu
The bill, please
In most places you pay at the register by the door, not at the table.
Emergencies and health
救急車を呼んでください
kyūkyūsha o yonde kudasai
Please call an ambulance
Fire and ambulance are 119; police are 110. Operators can connect an interpreter in many areas.
警察を呼んでください
keisatsu o yonde kudasai
Please call the police
Or walk to a 交番, the small police box found near most stations.
病院はどこですか
byōin wa doko desu ka
Where is a hospital?
For medicine without a doctor, ask for a 薬局 (pharmacy) instead.
ここが痛いです
koko ga itai desu
It hurts here
Point. 頭 is head, お腹 is stomach, 歯 is tooth.
パスポートをなくしました
pasupōto o nakushimashita
I lost my passport
Swap in 財布 (wallet) or 携帯 (phone). Lost items often turn up at station offices and police boxes.
薬をください
kusuri o kudasai
Medicine, please
At a drugstore: say this, then point at where it hurts or show the symptom on your phone.
Hotel basics
チェックインをお願いします
chekku in o onegaishimasu
Check-in, please
Have your passport ready; hotels are required to see it for foreign guests.
予約しています
yoyaku shite imasu
I have a reservation
Follow it with your name. Showing the booking on your phone also works.
Wi-Fiのパスワードは何ですか
waifai no pasuwādo wa nan desu ka
What is the Wi-Fi password?
Usually printed on a card in the room or at the front desk.
荷物を預かってもらえますか
nimotsu o azukatte moraemasu ka
Could you keep my luggage?
Before check-in or after check-out; almost every hotel does this for free.
チェックアウトは何時ですか
chekku auto wa nanji desu ka
What time is check-out?
Usually 10 or 11. 何時 (what time) works for anything with a time.
One-word answers that carry you through
はい
hai
Yes
Also means "I am listening", so it is not always agreement.
いいえ
iie
No
Clear but a little blunt; Japanese speakers often soften it with the next word.
ちょっと
chotto
Hmm, that is a bit...
The polite no. Trail off and the other person understands.
いいです
ii desu
It is fine / no thanks
Means "good" when you nod and "no thanks" with a small hand wave, so watch the gesture.
そうです
sō desu
That is right
Confirms what someone just said or asked.
おいしい
oishii
Delicious
The one word every cook and host wants to hear.
How to make them stick before the trip
- Pick ten. Start with the groups you will meet first: greetings, directions and paying.
- Play, then repeat a beat behind. Use the slow clip first, then the normal one, until you can keep up three times in a row.
- Hide the romaji. Switch it off above and say each phrase from the English alone. That is the test the trip will set you.
- Say them to someone. A friend, a mirror, or the hotel clerk on day one. The first real use is what makes a phrase permanent.
The full routine, with six practice sentences at two speeds, is in our Japanese shadowing practice guide.
Go deeper by situation
Frequently asked questions
How many Japanese phrases do I need to travel?
About fifty cover the situations most visitors meet: greeting, asking for help, directions, paying, ordering, an emergency, a hotel desk and the short answers in between. The list on this page is that fifty. Everything beyond it is a bonus, not a requirement, because pointing, photos and the English menus in cities carry the rest.
Is すみません (sumimasen) "excuse me" or "sorry"?
Both. It opens a request to a stranger or staff member ("excuse me"), apologises for small things such as bumping into someone ("sorry"), and even stands in for "thank you" when someone has gone to trouble for you. For a real apology, use ごめんなさい (gomen nasai).
How do I say "table for two" in Japanese?
Say 二人です (futari desu), "two people", at the restaurant door, usually with two fingers raised. One person is 一人です (hitori desu), three is 三人です (sannin desu). Staff may ask 何名様ですか (nanmei-sama desu ka), "how many people?", which is the question these answer.
Do I need to learn hiragana for survival phrases?
No. The phrases here have romaji and audio, and you can use them without reading any Japanese. Hiragana helps as soon as you want to read signs, menus and station names, and it takes most learners a week or two with a daily quiz.
What is the fastest way to remember these phrases?
Say them out loud, not just read them. Play each clip, repeat it a beat behind the voice, then try it with the romaji hidden. Ten phrases a day in that loop is a week for the whole list, and the ones you use on the trip stick for good.
Last reviewed November 6, 2026. Emergency numbers (119 for fire and ambulance, 110 for police), the passport rule at hotels and tax-free counters are stated from general knowledge of travel in Japan; confirm anything that matters for your trip with an official source. Romaji uses macrons for long vowels (ō, ū).