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Eating Out: A Basic Guide to Restaurant Japanese

August 19, 2014
by Richard Webb (http://tokyocheapo.com/author/richardwebb/)
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If youre not too well-versed in the vernacular, eating out in Japan ( http://japancheapo.com/) can be a bit stressful. Pointing and
gesturing will get you somewhere, but it might also get you something you didnt order! Too cheap to pay for Japanese lessons? No
problem. Print out this guide and prepare to dine like a pro.

(http://cdn5.cheapoguides.com/wp-

content/uploads/sites/2/2014/08/24609713_4a3b359fb4_b.jpg)
When you sit down, you will be given a wet cloth to wipe your hands, and usually also a glass of water or cup of tea (dont worry, its free).

Entering the Restaurant

Upon entering a restaurant, you will likely be greeted with the word irasshaimase, meaning Welcome. Soon after, the person greeting you will likely follow up
with, Nan mei sama desu ka?, or How many people?
Now its time to respond in Japanese! To do that, it will help to know a little more about one important part of this sentence: the mei counter.
For the uninitiated, Japanese has a large range of counters that are used to count dierent things. There are counters for people, animals, birds, small objects, long
objects, at objects, and many more. The mei counter used here is the polite counter for people. In the question above, it is used after the word nan, which by
itself means what, but when combined with a counter like mei, it means how many.

When responding to this question, you too will need to use the mei counter (or the less polite counter for people (http://japanese.about.com/blcounter_nin.htm)).
Thankfully, this counter is quite straightforward; if you can count to ten using regular numbers (ichi, ni, san), all you need to do is combine this number with mei.
So, if you are a group of four, you could respond to the question by saying:
E: We are four people.
J: yon mei desu
Although the sta member would have used the word sama, which is a more polite version of san as it is used after names, be careful not to include sama in
your response. Like san, sama is an honoric sux, and therefore shouldnt be used when referring to yourself.
The only other thing to be careful of is that for the numbers four and seven, you should use the yon and nana variations, not shi or shichi.

(http://cdn6.cheapoguides.com/wp-

content/uploads/sites/2/2014/08/2445159350_db627f8900_o.jpg)
|credit|

Ordering

Ordering an individual item of food or drink in Japanese is quite easy. All you need to do is say the name of the item you wish to order, followed by kudasai, or
please.
E: [Food/drink name] please
J: [Food/drink name] + kudasai
Now, a lot of the time, youre going to be ordering more than one thing. To do that, just use the particle to in between each item of food, like you would use and
in English, and nish with kudasai. Heres an example:
E: A tonkotsu ramen and a beer please
J: tonkotsu ramen to bru kudasai
This is ne if you only want to order one of each item, but there are going to be times when you want to order more of something. To do this, you need to express
the quantity using another counter. There are a number of counters that can be used when ordering food or drink, but there are two in particular that will get you
through any situation the tsu counter and the ko counter.
The ko counter is quite easy. For most numbers, you just need to say the number followed by ko, and youre done. There are a few exceptions though, so here
is the ko counter for the numbers one through ten.
1. ikko
2. niko
3. sanko
4. yonko
5. goko
6. rokko
7. nanako
8. hakko
9. kyko
10. jukko
The ones to be careful of are one, six, eight and ten. For all of these, the original number has been shortened, and a hard double k sound is added in its place.

(http://cdn6.cheapoguides.com/wp-

content/uploads/sites/2/2014/08/8451685813_c75ce4db30_b.jpg)
Most restaurants have plastic food outside, so you know what each dish looks like.
The other counter, tsu, is more common, but also more dicult, because most of the numbers look nothing like the regular ones. Here they are:
1. hitotsu
2. futatsu
3. mitsu
4. yotsu
5. itsutsu
6. mutsu
7. nanatsu
8. yatsu
9. kokonotsu
10. t

Although it requires a bit more eort, these are worth learning, as the tsu counter is probably the most commonly used counter of all.
Now, when we actually want to order more than one of something, we need to add these numbers to the original sentence we used to order things. The best way to
do this is like
(http://tokyocheapo.com)
so:
[Food/drink name] + wo + [Number using ko or tsu counter] + kudasai
Heres an example:
E: Four waters please.
J: mizu wo yonko kudasai
J: mizu wo yotsu kudasai
Now, if you want to get a little bit tricky and order multiple items, including more than one of some items, you can do so using to like before. The only dierence is
that this time, it should be used after each counter. Heres an example you might use when ordering sushi:
E: 3 tuna and 2 salmon please
J: maguro wo mitsu to smon wo futatsu kudasai, or
J: maguro wo sanko to smon wo niko kudasai

(http://cdn6.cheapoguides.com/wp-

content/uploads/sites/2/2014/08/5486204882_141abd1f0e_b.jpg)

Beginning Drinking
When drinking alcohol, it is polite to wait until everybody has received their drink before starting. Once everyone has their drink in hand, its time for everybodys
favorite word: kanpai! This is the Japanese equivalent of cheers, and once said, you are free to go ahead and drink.

Beginning Eating
When eating in Japan, it is customary to say itadakimasu before digging in. This word literally means receive, and is a polite way of expressing your gratitude for
the meal that has been provided for you.

Asking for the Bill

When youve nished eating and are ready to pay, you will probably need to ask for the bill. To do this, just say the following to the waiter:
E: Please bring the bill
J: okaikei wo onegaishimasu
Literally, kaikei means account, and an o is added to the front to make it more polite. Onegaishimasu is a polite word used when asking for something,
much like the word kudasai.

Leaving the Restaurant

Although its not absolutely necessary, it is polite to thank the restaurant sta on your way out. You can do this using one of two phrases:
1. arigat gozaimashita
2. gochissama deshita
The former is just the regular old polite way of saying thank you, but in the past tense (the usual way is ne, too). The latter literally means, That was a feast, but
is essentially the same as saying, Thank you for a wonderful meal. You can also use this when eating at home yours or someone elses to thank the cook for
preparing the meal.

And there you have it all the basic phrases you need to get you through your next Japanese dining experience. Try them out next time you head out for a meal
and let us know how you go. Good luck!

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About The Author

(http://8020japanese.com)

Richard Webb (http://tokyocheapo.com/author/richardwebb/)

Richard Webb is the author of the Japanese language book 80/20 Japanese (http://8020japanese.com). Originally from Melbourne, Australia, he rst visited Japan
as a high school student, and has since spent over 6 years living in Japan. In that time, he has earned a degree in Japanese, studied linguistics at a Japanese
university, and worked for two Japanese companies in Tokyo. He is now back in Australia working on improving the way we learn Japanese.

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5 Comments

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Hasselbladsnapper

6 months ago

This guide is ok, but a real help would be a sheet with popular dishes on it ..... Chicken Yakatory, Pork tonkatsu cutlets, or dishes that reflect a western diet, just to
make a break from fish & rice dishes. I like traditional Japanese food, but an occasional western break is nice! and such a menu decoder would be great.
Reply Share

CheapoGreg

Mod > Hasselbladsnapper 6 months ago

Thanks for the suggestion. We might throw this kind of thing into a guide book - there are just too many to easily fit into an article. At least plenty of places
have menus with photographs.

Diana

Reply Share

7 months ago

I really like this guide. I would love to see more versions of this, like at the karaoke or sento.

Reply Share

Cheapo Editor > Diana

7 months ago

Thanks, Diana. Richard will be posting some more versions over the coming months - so check back from time to time. :)

BeastmanAIDS

Reply Share

8 months ago

Good guide - looking forward to future articles!

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