Simple Japanese Guide

Pronunciation:  (I underlined the more important bits but I wrote a full explanation if you’re interested)

Japanese has 5 vowel sounds - a, i, u, e, o They are pronounced as follows:

a - “ah” as in “Torah”
i - “ee” as in “see”
u - “oo” as in “you”
e - “ay” as in “ray”
o - “oh” as in “oh, shit.”

These are combined with consonant sounds. The vowels and consonants never change their pronunciation. For example:
Ka, ki, ku, ke, ko
ka - “kah”
ki - “key”
ku - “coo/coup”
ke - “kay”
ko - “koh” as in co-op

this is repeated for s, t, h, m, n, r, g, z, d. There are a few irregular ones:
sa, shi, su, se, so
ta, chi, tsu, te, to

There are 3 sounds with “y,” and they’re important:
Ya - “yah”
Yu - “you”
Yo - “yo”

These can be combined with the other consonant sounds to make things like “rya, kyu, sha,

There is also one sound without a vowel: “n” as in “ran”

If you have two of the same letter next to each other, such as “Hokkaido” there is a small pause between the two letters. Hok-kaido

If there is a word like “Toukyou” (Tokyo), the extra “u”s become a longer “o” sound. Tooh kyoohh.
If there is a long vowel other than “u,” it’s indicated with a dash mark “ー”
Bourbon would be “Ba-bon” with a long “a”

Putting this all together, let’s try two words:
ホテール (Ho te - ru)  (Hotel)
ho
te as in “tell”
dash for long “e”
ru as in “rue”

電車 (den-shya) (train)
den as in “dental”
shya as in “shalom”



Phrases:

Hello:
	Konnichiwa (cone-knee-chi-wa)

Excuse me:
	Sumimasen (sue me ma sen)

Thank You
	Arigatou (ah-rhee-ga-toe)….mr roboto

I am sorry
	gomennasai (go-men-na-sai)

Where is _____?:
	 ____ wa doko des ka?
＿＿＿は何所ですか。

What is that? (point)
	kore wa nan desu ka (koh-ray wa nahn des ka)
これは何ですか？

How much is this?
	Kore wa ikura des ka? (korey wa eekura des ka)
これはいくらですか？

I want to go here (point or name)
	Koko ni ikitain des… (koko-knee eeki-tain des (point) )
	(name of place) ni ikitain desu (knee eeki-tain des)
ここに行きたいんです

Do you speak English?
	Ego o hanasemasu ka? (aygo o hana-say-mas ka?)
英語を話せますか？

I don't speak Japanese.
	nihongo o hanasemasen (knee-hoen-go o hah-nah-say-ma-sen)
日本語を話せません

I do not understand.
	wakaremasen (wah-kar-ray-ma-sen)
分かれません

Where is the bathroom?
	Toire wa doko des ka? (Toy-ray wa doko des ka?)
トイレは何所ですか？

Where is the station?
	Eki wa doko des ka?
駅は何所ですか？

Where is the hospital?
	byouin wa doko desu ka? (byo-een wa doko des ka?)
病院は何所ですか？

I am sick
	byouki desu (byo-key des)
病気です

Some Useful Words (to put into the above phrases)
	Restaurant: レストラン 	resutoran			resto-rahn
	Hotel: ホテル　		hoteru			hoe-tey-ru
	Karaoke: カラオケ	karaoke 			ka-ray-oh-key
	Station: 駅　		eki				eh-key
	Train: 電車　		denshya			den-shya
	Airport: 空港 		kuukou			kuu-kou
	Hospital: 病院　		byouin			byo-een
	America: アメリカ 	amerika			ah-may-rhee-ka

	Water: 水 			omizu			oh-me-zu
	Coffee: コーヒー 		ko-hi			koh-hee
	Beer: ビール 		bi-ru			bee-ru
	Alcohol: 酒　		osake			oh-sah-kay
	Sushi: 寿司			sushi			sue-she

	Yes: はい			hai　			(hi)
	No: いいえ　		iie 			(eee-ay)
	How: どうやって 		douyatte		(dough-yah-tay)
	Why: なぜ　		naze		 	(nah-zey)
	Where: どこ 		doko	 		(doe-ko)
	When: いつ　		itsu 			(ee-tsu)
	What: 何　			nani 			(nah-knee)


Transportation:
-The trains stop running around midnight.
- Taxis cost a ton.

	How to use the trains:
- You need to get a card to swipe. We will get a Suica card from the machines in the stations. It has a penguin on it and there are English options on the machines.
- You have to "charge" your Suica because trains are expensive (at least $3 dollars. More depending on how far you go) you use those machines to do this. Insert your card and select "charge" then put your money in.


	Etiquette:
- Don't talk loudly on trains.
- Even if there is room to put your stuff next to you on the seats, you should hold it in your lap.
- No eating/drinking on trains.
- Always stand on the left side of escalators and walk on the right.
- Don't blow your nose in public if you can avoid it. People wear those weird white masks when they are sick (you don't have to)

	Practical Things
- There are almost no trash cans outside of the stations. You are expected to be responsible for your own trash (yay hotels)
- Tattoos aren’t as socially acceptable in Japan, so Pat will want to keep a hoodie or something with him
- Carry cash and don’t exchange in US