Useful Words & Phrases

Let’s expand our conversational skills, shall we?  Hopefully the greetings and farewells did not give you much trouble. By now, I expect that you know the Hiragana or that you are at least willing to refer to the chart. (http://hachidorida.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/the-kana-hiragana-and-katakana/)  If you’re that lazy, then there is no helping you!

I will give you a few useful Japanese phrases.  I will loosely group them based on their function and situation but I don’t think bold titles for every single group is necessary. You are smart~! You can figure it out.
To begin, two well-known phrases (or at least ones I hear many new students of Japanese use right away):

• お元気ですか? [おげんきですか?]  How are you? (lit. Are [you] healthy?)
• 元気です. [げんきです.] I’m fine. (lit. I’m healthy.)

And if you’re feeling adventurous:
おかげさまで元気です~! [おかげさまでげんきです~!] I’m fine, thank you~!

• すみません Pardon me. Excuse me. Sorry. (Can be used for many situations.)
• ごめん Sorry. (An apology for minor infractions.)
• ごめんなさい I’m sorry. (A more sincere apology than ごめん.)
• ちょっと 待ってください. [ちょっとまってください] Wait a moment, please.
• ありがとう. Thank you.
• ありがとうございます. Thank you very much. (more formal)
• どういたしまして. You’re welcome.
• はい Yes.
• いいえ. No

• おなかがすい I’m hungry.
• いただきます. I humbly receive. (Expression of gratitude before meals.)
• ごちそうさまでした. Thank you for this feast. (Said after meals.)
• のどがかわいた I’m thirsty.

• おめでとう! Congratulations!
• お誕生日おめでとう! [おたんじょうびおめでとう!] Happy birthday!
• お誕生日おめでとうございます! [おたんじょうびおめでとうございます!] Happy birthday! (more formal)
• 明けましておめでとう! [あけましておめでとう!] Happy New Year!
• 明けましておめでとうございます! あけましておめでとうございます! Happy New Year! (more formal)
• 良いお年を! [よいおとしを!] Have a good year! (Happy New Year!)
• 良い一日を! [よいいちにちを!] Have a nice day!
• 元気でね! [げんきでね!] Good luck! (For the future.)

http://hachidorida.wordpress.com/useful-words-phrases/