The Most Important Word(s) in Japanese

From my experience living in Japan, just over seven years, I found the most important word you need to know is this:

Onegaishimasu -おねがいします

Broken down in English phonetics it's:

O as in O
Ne as in Name
Gai as in Guy
Shi as in She
Ma as in Mama
Su as in Sue

The word means to 'please do me a favor'. Just as you would in English with 'please' and 'thank you', after asking for help, for a request for someone to do something for you or just anything really saying this one word will go a long way.

So you have been studying Japanese for a very long time or you've been studying out of a phrase book or level one textbook to learn words and grammatical phrases. That's great! Good for you. Learning a new language is good for your brain, builds cultural understanding and will definitely make it easier to make friends and order dinner.

But...

In Japan many people don't understand a lot of English or any, they might not even be able to understand your Japanese in that thick American (or other) accent of your's. So memorizing and having one strong word in your arsenal will go a long way.

Many of those phrase and textbooks put a lot of importance on greetings, saying hello and how's the weather, and yes they can be nice to know if your serious about living or working in Japan, but for tourists you can go a long way with just a few words.

So the second most important word you should know is:

Sumimasen - すみません

Broken down goes like this:

Su as in Sue
Mi as in Me
Ma as in Mama
Sen as in Sin

This word means to 'excuse'. As to say 'excuse me'. Literally it can mean 'excuse me for living', but that's if you add the Kanji. In contemporary Japan, it means 'pardon me' or 'excuse me'.

So...

You're on the streets of Tokyo looking for a location on a map, it should be right there, but because you're unfamiliar with Japan's address system, you don't know where to go next. A nice looking man or women is walking your way, what do you do?

You: Sumimasen.
M/W: はい。手伝いませんか？
You: Ummmmm-
M/W: はい。大丈夫か？
You: (points to map and address). Onegaishimasu.
M/W: あ！そうですよ。ちょっと、ちょっと。(waves hand for you to follow)

You follow the man or woman to the address and TADA! you are there which was right in front of you the whole time. With two words you communicated in Japanese and found what you were looking for in Tokyo or where ever you might be in Japan. You can do this with taxi drivers, train personnel, everyday citizens, but I don't recommend doing this on the bus - actually stay off the bus entirely unless you have a guide to help you with the peculiar logistics of bus riding in Japan.

And finally...

You should learn this last word:

Arigatou - ありがとう

That's:

Ari as in Ali
Ga as in GaGa
Tou as in Toe

This word means 'thank you'. Use this word to thank all the people who have been generous enough to help you on your trip. And, if you are feeling extra confident tac on Domo - ども on the front (you probably know this from the Styx song Mr. Roboto in which they sing 'domo arigatou Mr. Roboto') and Gozaimasu - ございます on the end.

Add:

Do as in Dough
Mo as in Moe

And:

Go as in Go
Zai as in Zine
Ma as in Mama
Su as in Sue

For added practice put it in a song like this:

With these three words and any number that you remember without looking in a English to Japanese dictionary, by the way just invest in a dictionary or translation app so you can easily type or speak the word you're looking for in English and have translated to Japanese quickly so you're not wasting people's time flipping through endless pages in a book, then you will be on your way to SEEING JAPAN!

For more information visit my site www.deathbykanji.com to learn Japanese from the many variety of signs you may encounter on your journey. And if you so happen to speak Japanese and you find a mistake, please let me know.