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Eating Out: A Basic Guide to Restaurant JapaneseAugust 19,
2014by Richard Webb
(http://tokyocheapo.com/author/richardwebb/)
If youre not too well-versed in the vernacular, eating out in
Japan ( http://japancheapo.com/) can be a bit stressful. Pointing
andgesturing will get you somewhere, but it might also get you
something you didnt order! Too cheap to pay for Japanese lessons?
Noproblem. Print out this guide and prepare to dine like a pro.
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(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 upwith, 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, longobjects, 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
byitself means what, but when combined with a counter like mei, it
means how many.
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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 inyour 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
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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, orplease.
E: [Food/drink name] pleaseJ: [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 andin English, and nish with kudasai.
Heres an example:
E: A tonkotsu ramen and a beer pleaseJ: 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 expressthe 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 youthrough
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 hereis the ko counter for the numbers one
through ten.
1. ikko2. niko3. sanko4. yonko5. goko6. rokko7. nanako8. hakko9.
kyko10. 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.
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(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. hitotsu2. futatsu3. mitsu4. yotsu5. itsutsu6. mutsu7.
nanatsu8. yatsu9. kokonotsu10. t
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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 todo this is like so:
[Food/drink name] + wo + [Number using ko or tsu counter] +
kudasai
Heres an example:
E: Four waters please.J: mizu wo yonko kudasaiJ: 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 isthat this time, it should be
used after each counter. Heres an example you might use when
ordering sushi:
E: 3 tuna and 2 salmon pleaseJ: maguro wo mitsu to smon wo
futatsu kudasai, orJ: maguro wo sanko to smon wo niko kudasai
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(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 everybodysfavorite 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 forthe 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 billJ: 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.
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(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 Japanas 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
Japaneseuniversity, and worked for two Japanese companies in Tokyo.
He is now back in Australia working on improving the way we learn
Japanese.
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 gozaimashita2. 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, butis 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
forpreparing 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 mealand let us know how you go. Good
luck!
About The Author
Send me the cheapo tips!
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5 Comments Tokyo Cheapo Login Share Sort by Best
Join the discussion
Reply
Hasselbladsnapper 6 months agoThis 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
tomake 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
CheapoGreg 6 months agoMod > HasselbladsnapperThanks 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 placeshave menus with photographs.
Reply
Diana 7 months agoI really like this guide. I would love to see
more versions of this, like at the karaoke or sento.
Reply
Cheapo Editor 7 months ago> DianaThanks, Diana. Richard will
be posting some more versions over the coming months - so check
back from time to time. :)
Reply
BeastmanAIDS 8 months agoGood guide - looking forward to future
articles!
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