Survival Japanese - Basic Phrases for Communication

[zgnumu]

Great list Cavistus. As a (relatively) fluent speaker, it feels a bit inconsistent though, combining some formal language and some rather casual language, which to a Japanese person may seem a bit strange, so allow me to nitpick a few details:

Spoiler!

English: Thanks for helping / Good work (good to use after a boss fight or an emergency code)
-
Kanji: お疲れ様でした。
Hiragana: おつかれさまでした。
Romaji: otsukaresama deshita

This is formal use, largely used in places of work/business. Casual shortened versions can be used in casual online environments if you want to be less polite/uptight.
おつかれさま - otsukaresama (casual)
おつかれ - otsukare (casual, shortened)

English: I understand. Sorry.
-
Kanji：　分かります。　すみません。
Hiragana: わかります。　すみません。
Romaji: wakarimasu. sumimasen.

Although technically grammatically correct, people generally don't talk like this. Use of the past tense, particularly in a stand-alone phrase is more common:
分かりました。すみません。

Kanji: 　付いて来て下さい。
Hiragana:　ついてくてください。
Romaji: tsuite kute kudasai

Hiragana:　ついてくてください。
Romaji: tsuite kite kudasai
The pronunciation of the kanji varies:
来て - kite
来る - kuru

English: Thank you for the party!
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Hiragana: PTありがとうございました！
Romaji: PT arigatou gozaimashita!

also super-formal. Casualified:
Hiragana: PTありがとう！
Romaji: PT arigatou!

Some other phrases you could add:

Spoiler!

English: I'm sorry, I don't know/understand.
Kanji：　すみません、分かりません。
Hiragana: すみません、わかりません。
Romaji:　sumimasen, wakarimasen.

English: Could you explain it in a way that is easy to understand?
(Formal) Kanji:　分かりやすい説明していただけますか?
(Formal) Hiragana: わかりやすいせつめいしていただけますか？
(Formal) Romaji: wakariyasui setsumeishiteitadakemasuka?
(Casual) Kanji: 分かりやすく説明してくれる？
(Casual) Hiragana: わかりやすくせつめいしてくれる？
(Casual) Romaji: wakariyasuku setsumeishitekureru?

For the next two, typing in hiragana would probably be better...
English: Could you please type （that again) in hiragana?
Kanji: 平仮名でお願いします。
Hiragana: ひらがなでおねがいします。
Romaji: hiragana de onegaishimasu.

English: I no good at reading kanji.
Kanji 漢字を読むのが上手でわありません。
Hiragana: かんじをよむのがじょうずでわありません。
Romaji: kanji wo yomuno ga jouzudewa arimasen.

私のドラゴン淫具を使いますか？
Watashi no dragon ingu o tsukaimasuka?
Shall we go hunt the dragon?

Please don't use this!

I'd post a more accurate translation, but it would violate PSOW ToS so... meh.

Additionally it'd prolly be easier to just say 僕は日本語を話さない　（ぼくはにほんごをはなさない） (I don't speak Japanese)

note: 僕 (ぼく , boku) is gendered as young male (sometimes used by boyish girls), but almost never adults (mature ones, anyways). You could replace it with the correct term (私, 俺, etc.) or take the easy/lazy route and remove it (making the referral to self implicit) and throw a sumimasen on the front for good measure:
Kanji: すみません、日本語を話せません。
Hiragana: すみません、にほんごをはなせません。
Romaji: sumimasen, nihongo wo hanasemasen.

edit:
話さない = I don't/won't speak _____.
vs.
話せない = I can't speak _____.

[Lintor]

note: 僕 (ぼく , boku) is gendered as young male (sometimes used by boyish girls), but almost never adults (mature ones, anyways). You could replace it with the correct term (私, 俺, etc.) or take the easy/lazy route and remove it (making the referral to self implicit) and throw a sumimasen on the front for good measure:
Kanji: すみません、日本語を話せません。
Hiragana: すみません、にほんごをはなせません。
Romaji: sumimasen, nihongo wo hanasemasen.

edit:
話さない = I don't/won't speak _____.
vs.
話せない = I can't speak _____.

Yeah... I've gotten yelled at a lot for that. Frankly, I would personally omit Watashi/boku wa, but I was trying to be through.
I use boku a lot, which isn't really that wrong for a video game, but I guess its too masculine for a female char most people play (atashi is femenine, but no one IRL actually uses that, so just use watashi). Theres no reason to stress being proper/adult on a video game.

I would also use gomen instead of sumimasen. No I don't need a lecture on why that would be less advised.

'don't' in English can mean either unable to or choose not to... I didn't think about that... my bad.

Quite frankly, if you play many online game, people don't talk much, I could get away with just saying yoro and otsu, in romanji.

[Vylera]

^Throw in ＰＴありでした when you leave the party and you got a complete short phrase collection.

For reference purposes, party is パーティ in katakana. I just don't like the PT abbreviation, personally.

Also, for this one:

Kanji: 　付いて来て下さい。
Hiragana:　ついてくてください。
Romaji: tsuite kute kudasai

The Kanji is correct, but the hiragana and romaji are 1 character off.

Hiragana:　ついてきてください。
Romaji: tsuite kite kudasai

The "ku" sound in kanji 来る "kuru" becomes "ki" when modified by te form.

Also, for forest, I would personally just use 森, which is pronounced "mori."

And just to add the hiragana & romaji so that people can type it out on their keyboards:

English: Forest
-
Kanji: 森
Hiragana: もり
Romaji: mori

English: Volcano
-
Kanji: 火山
Hiragana: かざん
Romaji: kazan

English: Desert
-
Kanji: 砂漠
Hiragana: さばく
Romaji: sabaku


Here are some more.

English: Shall we move on to the next quest?
-
Kanji: 次のクエストをしましょうか？
Hiragana: つぎのクエストをしましょうか？
Romaji: tsugi no kuesto wo shimashouka?

English: CAN I GET A HEAL PLEASE? Can someone use Resta, please!
-
Kanji:　だれかがレスタを使ってください.
Hiragana: だれかがレスタをつかってください.
Romaji: dareka ga resuta wo tsukattekudasai.

English: Can my friend come as well?
-
Kanji: 友達も参加していいですか？
Hiragana: ともだちもさんかしていいですか？
Romaji: tomodachi mo sanka shite ii desuka?

English: Is it alright with just the two of us?
-
Kanji:　二人で大丈夫ですか？
Hiragana：ふたりでだいじょうぶですか？
Romaji:　futari de daijyoubu desuka?

English: Please wait! I fell behind!
-
Kanji: ちょっと待ってください！私が遅くなりました！
Hiragana: ちょっとまってください！わたしがおそくなりました！
Romaji:　chotto mattekudasai! watashi ga osokunarimashita!

English: I didn't finish my client quest yet. Sorry, can we repeat that last mission again?
-
Kanji: クライアントクエストはまだ仕上げない。すまない、先の任務を繰り返してもいいですか？
Hiragana: クライアントクエストはまだしあげない。すまない、さきのにんむをくりかえしてもいいですか？
Romaji: kuraianto kuesto ha mada shiagenai. sumanai, saki no ninmu wo kurikaeshite mo ii desuka?

English: That Echo chick is pretty cute, isn't she?
-
Kanji: エコーちゃんは可愛いですね？
Hiragana:　エコーちゃんはかわいいですね?
Romaji:　ekoo-chan ha kawaii desune?

English: Watch out!
-
Kanji: 危ない！
Hiragana:　あぶない！
Romaji:　abunai!

English: Let's take a short break, shall we?
-
Kanji: 少し休みましょうか?
Hiragana:すこしやすみましょうか?
Romaji:　sukoshi yasumimashouka?

English: We did it! (i.e. After killing a boss/completing a difficult emergency code)
-
Kanji: やりました！
Hiragana: やりました！
Romaji: yarimashita!

English: I'll go on ahead.
-
Kanji: 私は先に行く。
Hiragana:　わたしはさきにいく。
Romaji:　watashi ha saki ni iku.

English: My inventory is full! Let me put some things in my bank. (Literal translation: My inventory can't hold anymore! I need some time to put things in my bank.)
-
Kanji: インベントリがもう持ったない!　少しアイテムをバンクに置く時間が必要。
Hiragana:　インベントリがもうもったない！　すこしアイテムをバンクにおくじかんがひつよう。
Romaji:　inbentori ga mou mottanai! sukoshi aitemu wo banku ni oku jikan ga hitsuyou.

I'm iffy on this last one ^. Not sure if oku is the right verb, or if describing your inventory as "can't carry more" is the right way.

That's all I can muster up for now.

[Shadownami92]

Might also be good to have a list of common responses. You know, so when you ask you might be able to understand if they say something like "Sure lets go" or "No, I want to go to ______ instead"

Basically common responses to these good to know comments.

[Lintor]

Might also be good to have a list of common responses. You know, so when you ask you might be able to understand if they say something like "Sure lets go" or "No, I want to go to ______ instead"

Basically common responses to these good to know comments.

Damn, someone figured out the flaw in pretending to know JP. I was ready with popcorn for when this all fell apart.

This is why I've been insisting on minimalism, and being upfront that you're not a native speaker and may not have had ANY proper training. But I've been trying not to directly rain on anyone's parade.

If you're really intent on doing this, try not to go overboard with the Japanese, and really do whatever to keep their responses simple first and foremost.

[Coatl]

Might also be good to have a list of common responses. You know, so when you ask you might be able to understand if they say something like "Sure lets go" or "No, I want to go to ______ instead"

Basically common responses to these good to know comments.

I don't think I'll be able to pick up what they will be saying though..
We are talking about Japanese gamers that probably won't be grammatically correct 100% of the time and will use different meanings to illustrate things that will seem arbitrary to non-japanese speakers.

So let's not get too complex..

[Vylera]

I don't think I'll be able to pick up what they will be saying though..
We are talking about Japanese gamers that probably won't be grammatically correct 100% of the time and will use different meanings to illustrate things that will seem arbitrary to non-japanese speakers.

So let's not get too complex..

Basically the problem here is that a conversation doesn't follow a machined path of predictable responses. People answer things differently, with different dialects, so as Lintor mentioned and as I tried to accomplish with the things I suggested, the safest way to go is to either ask questions that have a high probability in being answered with yes/no, or using expressions to state your condition and allow the people you're playing with to know what's going on, in which case understanding their response is most likely not necessary.

EDIT:

That being said, anyone who's unconfident in their Japanese should probably headline themselves with something like the following:

English: The truth is, I'm no good at Japanese. I just know a few useful phrases.
-
Kanji: 実は,私の日本語は上手じゃありません。 ちょっと便利な言葉がしているだけです。
Hiragana: じつは、わたしのにほんごはじょうずじゃありません。　ちょっとべんりなことばがしているだけ です。
Romaji: jitsu ha, watashi no nihongo ha jyouzujya arimasen. chotto benrina kotoba ga shiteiru dake desu.

This can be used if someone says something to you that you can't understand at all. In which case, you can also follow up with statements that zgnumu provided, such as "type it in hiragana" or "explain it more easily."

[ryoko227]

I was reading through this and noticing the changing back and forth between casual and formal language. Then got to page 4 and see that's already been addressed :P

Some things I might add/question..
If you are asking if it's okay to go someplace and are using the formal examples above, shouldn't your sentence end with
行ってもいいですか？
This is more for my knowledge then to be a J-grammar nazi

Someone also commented about the use of あたし which I completely agree with. I have yet to see this used in a J-game even by my female Japanese gamer friends. But do hear it pretty commonly in spoken language here in the Yokohama area. So probably best not to use it in game I would think, least be the nail that sticks out.

[Cavistus]

I've edited the main post with more of your phrases

Big thanks to zgnumu and Vylera for their contributions (and corrections; I KNEW that kanji didn't sound right)

Keep 'em coming, folks!

and please correct me on any mistakes I may have made.

[Spellbinder]

I can't think of any phrases to add. (There was one, but I forgot it while reading) Wanted to make some changes / comments / suggestions on new posts.

English: Could you explain it in a way that is easy to understand?
(Formal) Kanji:　分かりやすい説明していただけますか?
(Formal) Hiragana: わかりやすいせつめいしていただけますか？
(Formal) Romaji: wakariyasui setsumeishiteitadakemasuka?
(Casual) Kanji: 分かりやすく説明してくれる？
(Casual) Hiragana: わかりやすくせつめいしてくれる？
(Casual) Romaji: wakriyasuku setsumeishitekureru?

Here the two alternatives you gave are a very, very polite form of Japanese and a very, very casual form with no middle ground, so I'd like to add it in.

Kanji: 分かりやすく説明してもらえますか。
Hiragana: わかりやすくせつめいしてもらえますか。
Romaji: wakariyasuku setsumeishite moraemasu ka

I honestly wouldn't use the first one you posted because of it's very high politeness level. (That's something I would say to a teacher, boss at work, generally anyone who's higher than me from the perspective of social hierarchy).

note: 僕 (ぼく , boku) is gendered as young male (sometimes used by boyish girls), but almost never adults (mature ones, anyways). You could replace it with the correct term (私, 俺, etc.) or take the easy/lazy route and remove it (making the referral to self implicit) and throw a sumimasen on the front for good measure:

While 僕 (ぼく - boku) is the gendered word for "I", it's not restricted to young people and can still be used in some polite situations. However, it can indicate a level of intimacy between you and who you're talking to.

私 (わたし - watashi) - Standard for "I". Fairly polite and can show a sense of distance.

僕 (ぼく - boku) - "I" generally used by men (women use it sometimes but rarely). Can be used in polite situations, but I probably wouldn't use it in a polite situation unless I was the superior. Can also be used between friends with no problems.

俺 (おれ - ore) - A very masculine "I" (never heard a women say it). This one cannot be used for polite situations, only with friends.

note: 僕 and 俺 can both be used as "I" with speaking with friends, but once you pick one you have to stick to it. If you switch back and forth between the two your friends might find it strange (speaking from personal experience).

Kanji: クライアントクエストはまだ仕上げない。すまない、先の任務を繰り返してもいいですか？
Hiragana: クライアントクエストはまだしあげない。すまない、さきのにんむをくりかえしてもいいですか？
Romaji: kuraianto kuesto ha mada shiagenai. sumanai, saki no ninmu wo kurikaeshite mo ii desuka?

Edited:　My gut is telling me 仕上げる is no the word for this situation. I usually see it when referring to finishing a job or work, cooking, making things, etc. I'm not native so if anyone else can comment feel free. 任務 in the context of a game also seems fairly unnatural to me. At the very least, here's an alternative that can be used.

クライアントオーダー(or just オーダー)はまだクリアしていないです。ごめん、もう一度やってもいいですか。

Kanji: 私は先に行く。
Hiragana:　わたしはさきにいく。
Romaji:　watashi ha saki ni iku.

Just want to add the polite form to keep it consistent with the rest of your contributions.

Kanji: 私は先に行きます。
Hiragana: わたしはさきにいきます
Romaji: watashi wa saki ni ikimasu

Also watch out for particles. Although it's the hiragana "ha", it's read "wa" when used as a particle.

Kanji: インベントリがもう持ったない!　少しアイテムをバンクに置く時間が必要。
Hiragana:　インベントリがもうもったない！　すこしアイテムをバンクにおくじかんがひつよう。
Romaji:　inbentori ga mou mottanai! sukoshi aitemu wo banku ni oku jikan ga hitsuyou.

That sentence looks odd. Here's an alternative. If my also seems a little off someone feel free.

Kanji: インベントリがいっぱいです。ちょっと倉庫に入れてきます。
Hiragana: インベントリがいっぱいです。ちょっとそうこにいれてきます。
romaji: inbentori ga ippai desu. chotto souko in irete kimasu.

Kanji: 実は,私の日本語は上手じゃありません。 ちょっと便利な言葉がしているだけです。
Hiragana: じつは、わたしのにほんごはじょうずじゃありません。　ちょっとべんりなことばがしているだけ です。
Romaji: jitsu ha, watashi no nihongo ha jyouzujya arimasen. chotto benrina kotoba ga shiteiru dake desu.

Just going to suggest a slightly different version.

Kanji: 実は、日本語は上手じゃないです。ちょっと便利な表現を使っているだけです。
Hiragana: じつは、にほんごはじょうずじゃないです。ちょっとべんりなひょうげんをつかっているだけです 。
Romaji: jitsu wa, nihongo wa jouzu janai desu. chotto benrina hyougen wo tsukatteiru dake desu.

Personal pronouns are used a lot in English, but they can be picked up from context and be a little odd of overused.

Also, じゃありません while obviously polite is a form more common for writing than speaking. I was surprised the first time I came to a school in Japan, and when doing my homework using じゃありません (which I learned in the states), the teacher corrected me saying to use じゃないです。 Would be a few years before I learned the reason why.

Some things I might add/question..
If you are asking if it's okay to go someplace and are using the formal examples above, shouldn't your sentence end with
行ってもいいですか？
This is more for my knowledge then to be a J-grammar nazi

行ってもいいですか。
行っていいですか。

Both of these are perfectly fine. The only difference is not using も is more colloquial.