I am attempting to do some sentence mining and thought I would reach out to the wonderful community for some sentences and phrases you find yourself using often. Feel free to correct any if needed
Here are a few of mine:
今日は何をしましたか?What did you do today?
しょうがない - It cannot be helped
本当?Really?
そうなんだ?- Is that so? or Oh Really
分かる ‐ I understand
7ヶ月間日本語を勉強してます。 - I have been studying Japanese for 7 months
僕の日本語を上手じゃないです - My Japanese is not good
Feel free to add on, correct, or write some answers to some of these.
Thanks Everyone!
*EDIT: After some feedback, i’ve decided to add some specific scenarios. I attend a few Kaiwa (Conversation) clubs rather frequently and find myself on several topics rather often. Here are a few of them:
Travel Food Weekends Work Study Habits Music Japanese culture Intrest Hobbies Hometown
I’m mainly looking for icebreaker/ watercooler conversation that would be helpful when you first meet someone. These are questions and responses.
Some phrases I have are:
Whats your favorite food? Whats your favorite drink? Whats your favorite alcohol? What did you do today? Where are you from? I am from San Diego I like ramen and okonomiyaki I went to japan last year and I really love japan.strong text
I go to a couple Kaiwa clubs which is where I use a lot of my sentences.
Yet, I’m very interested in everyone’s useful phrases.
I shop at a lot of Japanese restaurants and grocery stores, also I’m going to Japan in April so both of these phrases will be helpful
I went to Japan recently and I used these 2 extensively:
「xxxはどこですか?」 – Where is xxx? [Asking for directions]
「xxxはありますか?」 – Is there xxx? [Usually when I’m looking for a particular item in a store. Or as I point to an image from my phone]
(Side note: Is「xxxがありますか?」more correct? The use of particle が is mentioned in the textbook I am using (Genki) for あります. However, my Japanese friend corrected me to use は instead. Rather confused and would appreciate any help!)
Which is more correct depends on the context. If you want to read through a Japanese answer I like this one. But I feel like personally が in those questions implies that you have reason to believe that it is there while は is a more general question.
To me this sounds a little tight/serious. More commonly you’ll hear/use:
分かりました (more polite - indicating you understand the information you’re being told)
分かりますよ (slightly more casual, like “OK, I got it!”)
If you wanna level up your casual slangy response repertoire, may I recommend:
マジ(ですか)!? - omg! / no way! / are you serious? / you’re kidding me!! / REALLY?!
うそ! Lies! / it must be a joke / you’ve gotta be kidding me / No way! / really?
やばい - the ultimate multi-purpose reaction word. Meaning ranges depending on situation from extremely amazing/cool to horribly awful / no way.
無理 - impossible! / no way (used in situations where you feel you can’t do something for whatever reason)
いい(です)よ! - OK! No problem! Sure!
すごい・すげー! - WOW! / Amazing! / Wonderful! / Great! (the latter is wayyy more casual)
Other things I use all the time:
そのままでいいです - I’ll take it as it is (ex: I don’t need a shopping bag)
その時に~~ - At that time ~~ (I was ~~ing. Usually used when telling a story or recapping an event)
すみません! - Excuse me / I’m sorry
すみませんが。。。- I’m sorry to bother you, but…
どうした? - What happened? / What’s up? / What do you need?
分かった! - I’ve got it! / I have an idea! (lightbulb moments)
どうすればいいですか? - What should I do? (Used when you’re not sure what the next step should be)
もし大丈夫なら。。。 - If it’s okay…
もし時間があれば、~~。 - If there’s time, ~~. (If you have time)
もしよかったら。。。 - If you’d like…
どこ行けばいいですか?(どこ行ったらいいですか?)- Where can/should I go? (when asking for a recommendation.)
やっぱり! - I knew it / As expected…
もちろん - Of course
(すみません)ちょっと質問がありますけど。。。 - (Excuse me) I have a question
今日のえいぎょうじかんは何時までですか? - What time are you open until today?
(stores/shops re:business hours)
It would be easier if you needed phrases for a specific situation,
but that’s what I’ve got off the top of my head!