Learning Japanese Useful Phrases: Restaurants

Eating at restaurants has long been an intricate part of Japanese culture, especially for families to eat out a couple of times a month at sushi or yakiniku restaurants, or for "salary men" to eat at Izakayas (pubs with a large selection of small food portions). But for anyone, going to restaurants in Japan is usually a very enjoyable experience as the staff are extremely polite and create a warm and friendly atmosphere with their courteous and energetic attitudes. From the huge "Irasshaimase!!" (welcome) as you enter the door to the "Thank yous" and "Enjoys" that are shouted and in most cases repeated by every available staff member each time you place an order.Japanese restaurant

Going to your local Sushi train or teppanyaki can also be a great way to learn Japanese or practice some new phrases you have picked up. So whether you are dining locally or visiting the land of the rising sun, here is a list of the most common phrases and words used in a Japanese restaurant situation.

When entering the restaurant:

*Irasshaimase welcome
*nanmei sama desuka? how many people?
*hitori 1 person
*futari 2 people
*sannin 3 people
*yonin 4 people
*gonin 5 people
*rokunin 6 people
*nananin 7 people
*hachinin 8 people
*kyuunin 9 people
*jyuunin 10 people
*tabako suwarimasuka? will you be smoking?
*hai yes
*suwanai no

Ordering:

*gochuumon okimari desuka? are you ready to order?
*hai- yes
*chotto matte kudasai just a moment please
*____arimasuka? do you have____?
*arimasu yes (we do)
*nai desu no (we dont)
*____kudasai ____please
* ____hitotsu kudasai one____please
*____futatsu kudasai two____s please
*____mittsu kudasai three____s please
*____yottsu kudasai four____s please
*____izutsu kudasai five____s please
*kore nan desuka? whats this?
*arigatou gozaimasu thank you

Drinks (nomimono):

*omizu water
*ocha green tea
*koucha tea
*koohi coffee
*koora cola
*orenji jyuusu orange juice
*ringo jyuusu apple juice
*biiru beer
*wain wine
*attakai warm/hot
*tsumetai cold

Food (tabemono):

*niku meat
*gyuniku beef
*toriniku chicken
*butaniku pork
*sakana fish
*yasai vegetables
*sarada salad
*pan bread
*men noodles
*furaido poteto french fries
*yakisoba fried noodles

Note: most western food and drinks are the same or very similar in Japanese so if you get stuck, just say it in English slowly and they should get the idea.;)

Numbers/Money:

Note- Yen is pronounced as en at the end of the price

*1 ichi, 2 ni, 3 san, 4 shi, 5 go, 6 roku, 7 nana, 8 hachi, 9 kyu, 10 jyu.

*Add a number then jyu (ten) to make twenty, thirty etc. For example nijyu = twenty, gojyu = fifty.

*Hyaku hundred
*Sen Thousand
*Man Ten thousand
*Jyuman hundred thousand

*Some examples- 2,500 Ni sen go hyaku, 11,400 ichiman sen yon hyaku, 255 ni hyaku go jyu go

(There are some minor changes made to numbers when grouping together but it will get too complicated to mention them here.)