Learn Japanese Conversation

Building Up Japanese - Lesson 4

Shopping & Restaurant

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Romaji
Romaji
Smith:Suimasen. Sore o misete kudasai.
Ten'in:Hai, doozo.
Smith:Kore wa ikura desu ka?
Ten'in:Sore wa 1,500-en desu.
Smith:Soo desu ka. Ja, kore o kudasai.
Ten'in:Hai. Arigatoo gozaimasu.
Smith:Excuse me. Could you show me that one, please?
Clerk:Here you are.
Smith:How much is this?
Clerk:It's 1,500-yen.
Smith:I see. Then, I'll take this.
Clerk:Thank you very much.
Ten'in:Irasshaimase.
Suzuki:Suimasen. Piza ga arimasu ka?
Ten'in:Hai.
Suzuki:Ja, piza o hitotsu to koohii o futatsu kudasai.
Ten'in:Hai, shooshoo omachi kudasai.
Waiter:Welcome. May I help you?
Suzuki:Excuse me. Do you have pizza?
Waiter:Yes, we do.
Suzuki:Then, one pizza and two (cups of) coffee, please.
Waiter:Sure. Just a moment, please.

Key Sentences

1.Q:Kore wa ikura desu ka?
A:Sore wa 500-en (gohyaku-en) desu.
Q:How much is this?
A:It's 500 yen.
2.Kore o kudasai.
I will take this.
3.Kono kaban o kudasai.
Can I have this bag?
4.Ano seetaa o misete kudasai.
Could you show me that sweater, please?
5.Koohii o futatsu kudasai.
Two (cups of) coffee, please?
6.Piza o hitotsu to koocha o futatsu kudasai.
Can I have a pizza and two (cups of) tea, please?
7.Wain ga arimasu ka?
Do you have wine?

Grammar Notes

Ikura desu ka? "How much"

Ikura means "how much" and Kore wa ikura desu ka? means "How much is this?."

1.Q:Kore wa ikura desu ka?
A:Sore wa 1,000(sen)-en desu.
Q:How much is this?
A:That is 1,000 yen.
2.Q:Koohii wa ikura desu ka?
A:500(gohyaku)-en desu.
Q:How much is (a cup of) coffee?
A:It's 500 yen.

Numbers

10juu 100hyaku 1,000sen 10,000ichi-man
20ni-juu 200ni-hyaku 2,000ni-sen 20,000ni-man
30san-juu 300san-byaku* 3,000san-zen* 30,000san-man
40yon-juu 400yon-hyaku 4,000yon-sen 40,000yon-man
50go-juu 500go-hyaku 5,000go-sen 50,000go-man
60roku-juu 600roppyaku* 6,000roku-sen 60,000roku-man
70nana-juu 700nana-hyaku 7,000nana-sen 70,000nana-man
80hachi-juu 800happyaku* 8,000hassen* 80,000hachi-man
90kyuu-juu 900kyuu-hyaku 9,000kyuu-sen 90,000kyuu-man

See Words & Phrases - Numbers for Audio

Two numerical systems

There are two numerical systems in the Japanese language. The ichi, ni, san system which is introduced in Lesson 3, and the hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu system here.
The ichi-system is used with number counters. The hitotsu-system is used independently without number counters.
The hitotsu-system goes as far as 10 and cannot be use for people, time and money.

Ichi-system Hitotsu-system
1ichi 1hitotsu
2ni 2futatsu
3san 3mittsu
4shi, yon 4yottsu
5go 5itsutsu
6roku 6muttsu
7shichi, nana 7nanatsu
8hachi 8yattsu
9kyuu 9kokonotsu
10juu 10too

See Words & Phrases - Numbers for Audio

Number counters used with ichi-system

  yen bottles
cylinder 		cups
glasses 		paper people
1 ichi-en ippon ippai ichi-mai hitori
2 ni-en ni-hon ni-hai ni-mai futari
3 san-en san-bon san-bai san-mai san-nin
4 yo-en yon-hon yon-hai yon-mai yo-nin
5 go-en go-hon go-hai go-mai go-nin
6 roku-en roppon roppai roku-mai roku-nin
7 nana-en nana-hon nana-hai nana-mai shichi-nin/nana-nin
8 hachi-en happon happai hachi-mai hachi-nin
9 kyuu-en kyuu-hon kyuu-hai kyuu-mai kyuu-nin
10 juu-en juppon juppai juu-mai juu-nin
? ikura nan-bon nan-bai nan-mai nan-nin

When ordering dishes at a restaurant or purchasing goods at a store, you can use the hitotsu-system without counter in general.
However, the ichi-system is better to use when ordering a glass or bottle of wine and beer.
The expression, wain o hitotsu, is unclear as to whether you want a glass or a bottle.
The counters for glasses are ippai, ni-hai and san-bai while ippon, ni-hon and san-bon are for bottles.
It is unnecessary to use ippai for coffee and tea as they are usually served by cups.
There are too many things to remember in the counter system even for the Japanese. Use the hitotsu-system whenever you are not sure.
But remember the hitotsu-system is only for numbers from one to ten and cannot be use for people, time and money.

Kono, sono, ano

When indicating objects like "this book" or "that bag" instead of "this" or "that", kono, sono or ano are used.

1.Kore wa 5,000-en desu.
Kono seetaa wa 5,000-en desu.
This is 5,000 yen.
This sweater is 5,000 yen.
2.Sore wa 9,000-en desu.
Sono kaban wa 9,000-en desu.
That is 9,000 yen.
That bag is 9,000 yen.
3.Are wa ikura desu ka?
Ano kaban wa ikura desu ka?
How much is that?
How much is that bag?

[object] o kudasai

Kudasai following a noun means "give me." O is an object marker. Kore o kudasai means "I'll take this" or "Can I have this?" (literally means "please give me this").

1.Kore o kudasai
I'll take this. / Can I have this?
2.Koohii o futatsu kudasai.
Can I have two (cups of) coffee, please?

Onegai shimasu "Please"

There is a similarly used phrase, onegai shimasu, meaning "please".
Since kudasai literally means "give me", you cannot use it to a taxi driver to tell your destination.

Koohii, onegai shimasu.Coffee, please.
Ginza, onegai shimasu.Ginza, please.
Ginza, kudasai.Give me Ginza.

[object] o misete kudasai

Misemasu is a verb meaning "to show", and misete kudasai means "please show me".
This pattern is minutely introduced in Book 2.

1.Sore o misete kudasai
Would you show me that, please?
2.Ano kaban o misete kudasai.
Would you show me that bag, please?

[thing] ga arimasu ka?

Arimasu is a verb meaning "to have" or "to be there". The negative form is arimasen.
Ga is a particle. This particle follows a subject of a sentence as subject marker.
Moreover, the particle ga is also used in several certain structures.
For example, the verb arimasu meaning "to have" is used in the following structure with ga.

1.Watashi wa kuruma ga arimasu.
I have a car.
2.Q:Sandoicchi ga arimasu ka?
A:Hai, arimasu.
Q:Do you have sandwiches?
A:Yes, we have.

To vs. Soshite "and"

Both to and soshite means "and".
To is used to connect two nouns, and soshite is used to connect two sentences or phrases.

1.Koohii to koocha o kudasai.
Can I have (a cup of) coffee and tea, please?
2.Piza o hitotsu to koohii o futatsu kudasai.
Soshite, omizu o kudasai.
A pizza and two (cups of) coffee, please.
And water, please.

Vocabulary

are

that

ano

that (object)

arigatoo gozaimasu

Thank you very much, Thank you

arimasu

to have / to be at, exist

desu

is, are, am

doozo

please

en (-en)

Japanese Yen

futatsu

two

ga

particle indicating a subject or used in wa-ga structure

Ginza

place name

hai

yes

hai, doozo

here it is

hitotsu

one

ikura

how much

irasshaimase

Welcome, May I help you?

ja

well, then

ka?

question marker

kaban

bag, briefcase

kore

this

kono

this (object)

koocha

(black) tea

koohii

coffee

kudasai

give me, I'll take it

kudasai (-te kudasai)

(fp) expressing request; please do

misemasu

to show

misete

te form of misemasu, to show

misete kudasai

please show me

o

particle indicating an object

omizu (mizu)

water

onegai shimasu

please

piza

pizza

sandoicchi

sandwiches

seetaa

sweater

shooshoo

a little

shooshoo omachi kudasai

just a moment, please (polite)

sore

that

sono

that (object)

soo desu ka

I see

soshite

and

suimasen

Excuse me, Sorry (colloquial of sumimasen)

ten'in

shop assistant, waiter, waitress

to

and

wa

particle indicating a topic or a subject

wain

wine

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