Survival Japanese - Basic Phrases for Communication

[Cavistus]

Alright. I haven't seen a thread like this yet, so let's talk about Japanese phrases that you can use for simple basic communication. Seeing as many of us will be interacting with other Japanese players, it only seems proper that we brush up on some phrases.

My Japanese is very very basic and sub-par, but I can get by. I'll post some simple common phrases, and if anyone else has any others, feel free to add to them. I'll edit this post with your additions accordingly.

You SHOULD be able to simply copy and paste these phrases into your chat in-game. People with IMEs should already know how to convert hiragana to kanji, so I'll leave that as it is.

-----

English: Hello, may I join you?
-
Kanji: こんにちは、私も参加して良いですか？
Hiragana: こんにちは、わたしもさんかしていいですか？
Römaji: konnichiha, watashi mo sanka shite ii desu ka?



English: I don't understand Japanese well. I'm sorry.
-
Kanji: すみません。日本語がよくわからないんです。
Hiragana: すみません。にほんごがよくわからないんです。
Romaji: sumimasen. nihongo ga yoku wakaranain desu



English: I don't understand Japanese. Is it alright if I join you?
-
Kanji: 日本語がわからないけど、参加して良いですか？
Hiragana: にほんごがわからないけど、さんかしていいですか？
Römaji: nihongo ga wakaranai kedo, sanka shite ii desu ka?



English: Excuse me, I will be right back.
-
Kanji: ちょっと席をはずします.
Hiragana: ちょっとせきをはずします。
Romaji: chotto seki wo hazushimasu.



English: I'm back. (i've returned)
-
Hiragana: ただいま
Romaji: tadaima



English: Welcome back.
Kanji: お帰り。
Hiragana: おかえり。
Ｒｏｍａｊｉ： okaeri



English: I have things to do, so I will be leaving now. Thank you.
-
Kanji: 用事が出来たので、失礼します。どうもありがとう。
Hiragana: ようじができたので、しつれいします。どうもありがとう。
Römaji: youji ga dekita no de, shitsurei shimasu. doumo arigatou.



English: Let's play again sometime.
-
Hiragana: またよろしくね
Römaji: mata yoroshiku ne



English: Thanks for helping / Good work (good to use after a boss fight or an emergency code)
-
Hiragana: おつかれさま。(casual)
おつかれ (casual, shortened)
Romaji: otsukaresama (casual)
otsukare (casual, shortened)



English: Help!
-
Kanji: 助けて！！
Hiragana: たすけて！！
Romaji: tasukete!



English: That was fun!
-
Kanji: 楽しかった！
Hiragana: たのしかった！
Romaji: tano shikatta!



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



English: I am a new player.
-
Kanji: 私は初心者です
Hiragana: わたしはしょしんしゃです
Romaji: watashi ha shoshinsha desu



English: Please follow me.
-
Kanji: 　付いて来て下さい。
Hiragana:　ついてきてください。
Romaji: tsuite kite kudasai



English: Good luck.
-
Hiragana: がんばって
Romaji: ganbatte



English: Congratulations!
-
Hiragana: おめでとう！
Romaji: omedetou!



English: Take care!
-
Kanji: 気を付けて！
Hiragana: きをつけて！
Romaji: ki wo tsukete!



English: Thank you for the party!
-
Hiragana: PTありがとう！
Romaji: PT arigatou!



English: I'm going to step on the switch, so wait here.
-
Kanji: スイッチ踏んでくるから待ってて
Hiragana: スイッチふんでくるからまってて
Romaji: suicchi fun de kuru kara matte te



English: Stay on that switch please.
-
Kanji: そのスイッチ踏んでおいて
Hiragana: そのスイッチ踏んでおいて
Romaji: sono suicchi fun de oite


-------

English: Can we go to OOO after this?
-
Kanji: これから、○○○ に行っていいですか?
Hiragana: これから、○○○ にいっていいですか？
Romaji: kore kara, ○○○ ni itte ii desu ka?

Replace OOO with:
-
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




-------

English: Can we do the Emergency Mission?
-
Kanji: 緊急ミッションをやっていいですか
Hiragana: きんきゅうミッションをやっていいですか
Romaji: kinkyuu misshon wo yatte ii desu ka


HUGE addition to the list, thanks to Vylera:

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: 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.

Some other phrases you could add:

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?
-
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
-
(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はありません。
Romaji: kanji wo yomuno ga jouzudewa arimasen.

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."

A couple new phrases:

English: (It's) Over here! (used to indicate there's something of interest at your location. ie. boss)
-
Hiragana: ここです！
Romaji: koko desu!
Casualer Hiragana: こっちです！
Casualer Romaji: kocchi desu!

English: OOO Please come back. (replace OOO with persons name to specify, or remove to generalize)
-
Kanji: OOO戻って来てください。
Hiragana: OOOもどってきてください。
Romaji: OOO modotte kite kudasai.

English: You go on ahead. I'll catch up later
-.
Kanji:　先に行ってください。後で追い付きます。
Hiragana: さきにいってください。あとでおいつきます。
Romaji: saki ni ittekudasai. Atode oitsukimasu.

[Spellbinder]

Might just be me, but #3 looks a little odd.

Edit: I guess to be more specific, I'd probably say ちょっと待って or something first.

[LuneFox]

Nice tips for someone who doesn't speak japanese :3
P.S. I'd say またよろしくね instead of また、さんかさせてください

#3 looks okay, but I usually hear just すぐ戻る/ります　(without "ni")

[LuneFox]

Mukanshin(無関心) - non-interest in others
...many people in cities like Tokyo, most Japanese have developed a sense of "non-interest" in others' and their affairs or even their existence...

Oh, then it explains why I didn't pay attention to your giant post with alot of quotes.

[Buthor]

Oh, then it explains why I didn't pay attention to your giant post with alot of quotes.

I know you've contributed a lot to this thread LuneFox but, perhaps you should read this part of my "giant post with alot of quotes."

...This thread is an excellent collaboration of knowledge and a shining example of how the PSO-W community can really come together to teach one another something but, that isn't my point here. It is that for those of you "who haven't the foggiest idea about japanese!" you really should just take the time to really study the language in-depth and thoroughly (professional instruction that is not Rosetta-Stone is a huge help - and I say this from my own educational experience and having attempted to use Rosetta-Stone to just keep it fresh in my mind and being disgusted at their immersion-only approach)...

Are you asking for a "tl;dr"?

tl;dr: learn the language and sage this thread, it's not a guide.

[Raxrenol]

This is my main point. This is just becoming a "learn Japanese thread" which I don't see serving any purpose as it is being written by non-professional sources here on this forum. If you're really interested in being able to use Japanese effectively then you just plain need to take several years of coursework and live there or Rosetta-Stone if you're really brave.

I've read through all your supporting quotes and I'm very impressed at the length at which you go to justify your points. However I do feel you segregate the types of people who'd view this thread into categories that are too extreme on either end. Yes, players who have absolutely no knowledge of Japanese wouldn't be able to fully understand a Japanese player's reply, maybe a disclaimer should be put up in the opening post to caution against going overboard. Similarly, a player fluent in Japanese would have no need for this thread, but that much is obvious.

The recommended phrases here do help to quickly get a message across though, and there have been numerous accounts of people having conversations with Japanese players over Google translate, so I wouldn't say someone without Japanese knowledge is completely helpless.

But more to the point, the real merits of this thread come to those who know the basics of Japanese, or are moderately skilled at it. Say someone who took a couple courses over a school break or did a few modules for interest. This person would have a base grasp of hiragana, katakana, some kanji, but he'd probably not have the vocabulary to express a wide variety of useful phrases for in-game situations. That's where this thread comes in.

Additionally, someone who's learning Japanese but simply does not have the time or motivation for a full time pursuit in the language can benefit in the interim by having a one-stop go-to guide for all the phrases he may find useful, and then proceed to focus on honing his Japanese later through professional lessons. Games are a great way to learn a language, playing online games while growing up greatly strengthened my grasp of English (I'm not a native speaker) through reading and application. There can be many ways to learn a language other than the conventional means.

My point is, there are many degrees of people in between the two extremes you've listed that could benefit from this thread (like me), thus I'd say saging it would be a tad overzealous.

Reasons that silence is better:
Mukanshin(無関心) - tl;dr: Japanese people don't say anything to each other so don't worry about them not saying anything to you.

Spoiler!

This is a social construct in Japan that has really developed right along-side the population level itself. You see, because there are so many people in cities like Tokyo, most Japanese (because "most" live in enormous cities) have developed a sense of "non-interest" in others' and their affairs or even their existence (and I use "non-" because "dis-" would indicate a "lack of interest" and that is not the case here; rather, the notion of there ever being the ability for the person to develop a lack of interest is 無=null/moot/void, that is: it never existed). So, for those of you who feel there may be some need to fill some kind of "awkward" silence in your PSO2 sessions with Japanese players that you can't understand in the first place, you have nothing to worry about: they don't even register your existence outside of your virtual character's appearance in their party - AND THAT'S OK. Mukanshin is not something unusual or scary or negative in any way. It is as normal for Japanese as breathing. If you're not Japanese and you don't believe me, I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to go and live somewhere like Tokyo (yes, I'm sure you've figured it out that I used to live there but am now back in the States hence any notion to connect with English speaking players at all). If you're Japanese and you think I'm wrong: 申し訳ありませんが上智大学に行ったし、日本文化論を勉強しました。

True, this is very prevalent behavior in Japan, but to say that all of them don't care about other people around them is over generalizing. There are a decent number of friendly Japanese players who do try to speak to foreigners, as many scenarios on this forum can attest, so again I'd refrain from lumping every Japanese player into one big socially apathetic stereotype.

[Buthor]

I've read through all your supporting quotes and I'm very impressed at the length at which you go to justify your points. However I do feel you segregate the types of people who'd view this thread into categories that are too extreme on either end. Yes, players who have absolutely no knowledge of Japanese wouldn't be able to fully understand a Japanese player's reply, maybe a disclaimer should be put up in the opening post to caution against going overboard. Similarly, a player fluent in Japanese would have no need for this thread, but that much is obvious.

The recommended phrases here do help to quickly get a message across though, and there have been numerous accounts of people having conversations with Japanese players over Google translate, so I wouldn't say someone without Japanese knowledge is completely helpless.

But more to the point, the real merits of this thread come to those who know the basics of Japanese, or are moderately skilled at it. Say someone who took a couple courses over a school break or did a few modules for interest. This person would have a base grasp of hiragana, katakana, some kanji, but he'd probably not have the vocabulary to express a wide variety of useful phrases for in-game situations. That's where this thread comes in.

Additionally, someone who's learning Japanese but simply does not have the time or motivation for a full time pursuit in the language can benefit in the interim by having a one-stop go-to guide for all the phrases he may find useful, and then proceed to focus on honing his Japanese later through professional lessons. Games are a great way to learn a language, playing online games while growing up greatly strengthened my grasp of English (I'm not a native speaker) through reading and application. There can be many ways to learn a language other than the conventional means.

My point is, there are many degrees of people in between the two extremes you've listed that could benefit from this thread (like me), thus I'd say saging it would be a tad overzealous.



True, this is very prevalent behavior in Japan, but to say that all of them don't care about other people around them is over generalizing. There are a decent number of friendly Japanese players who do try to speak to foreigners, as many scenarios on this forum can attest, so again I'd refrain from lumping every Japanese player into one big socially apathetic stereotype.

Yeah maybe I went a little overboard. I'm just passionate about the language is all. I would rather have people learning so they can really have a good time than just using this C&P method. I've been really enjoying using this game to brush up on my Japanese again because, since I lived there, I haven't used it for a while now. Just saying, if you really wanna have a good time then you really should put some serious effort into learning the language, it'll really pay off regardless whether or not you travel to Japan.

[chihiro]

The only thing I see in this thread relating to thanks is "thanks for the hard work". How do you say thanks after getting rezzed or thanks after getting congratulated for levelling? Just casually. Not a five word statement of thanks that uses formal kneecrawling apologies. Would be appreciated ORZ.

[Valymer]

rez is 復活, so I guess you go with the safe 復活ありがとう, or if you are feeling brave 復活してくれてありがとう, which literally means "thanks for doing the rez to/for me"

For leveling up congrats I usually don't say anything, but ありがとう is always a safe thing to respond with I guess

[Zaix]

Some of the Romanji seems a tad off to me as well...

EDIT: I certainly don't claim to be great at Japanese. But I recognize some words that didn't seem quite right.