Japanese for Travelers. Scott Rutherford

related marker, though not exactly one indicating a question, is ne. Ne comes after an assertion to soften it and could be thought of as “... isn’t it?” or “... don’t you think?” Let’s compare some examples.

      It’s hot today.

      Kyō wa atsui desu.

      Is it hot today?

      Kyō wa atsui desu ka?

      It’s hot today, don’t you think?

      Kyō wa atsui desu ne.

      The basic sentence remains the same. Only the end markers—ka and ne—and voice intonation change. Intonation is critical in Japanese. The only way to learn it properly is by listening to spoken Japanese and observing context. Listen to the conversation all around you.

      ASKING A QUESTION

      Asking questions in a strange language can be intimidating, given that success is anything but guaranteed. And for most Japanese people, being approached by foreigners can be equally intimidating. Their first worry is that they’ll be addressed in English, and expected to reply in kind. The second worry is that there’ll be communication problems, failure, and loss of face.

      If asking a question, always precede it by acknowledging your rudeness with Shitsurei desu ga. Alternatively, Sumimasen ga can be used. Shitsurei and sumimasen can be used to apologize for just about anything, from addressing a stranger on the street, to spilling a drink on your date’s lap. Shitsurei shimasu apologizes for something the speaker is doing while he speaks; shitsurei shimashita apologizes for something already done.

      If making a request, be aware that properly asking a favor or making a request requires a certain amount of diplomacy. In Japanese, one ideally need not explicitly state a request. An understood and shared context, and a hesitant intonation, make the request obvious. It’s good to sound apologetic and unsure, as this can convey politeness at least as effectively as correct grammar and verb conjugation.

      To summarize, before springing a question in Japanese upon the unsuspecting, preface it with a smile and apologies, spoken graciously and unaggressively:

      Sumimasen. (Excuse me . . .)

       or

      Shitsurei desu ga. (I’m being rude, but. . .)

      And when all is finished, successful or not, bow your head slightly and say Dōmo arigato gozaimashita, which means “Thank you very much.”

      The directness of the question “Why?” poses problems for many Japanese. It’s a confrontational query. One shouldn’t have to ask why about most things; the answer either is irrelevant, or obvious from clues with which the speaker has littered the conversation.

what	nan/nani	何
when	itsu	いつ
where	doko	どこ
which	dochira	どちら
who	dare	誰
why	naze	なぜ
how far	dono kurai	どのくらい
how long	dono kurai	どのくらい
how many	ikutsu	いくつ
how much	ikura	いくら
what time	nanji ni	何時に

      Naturally, when traveling, you’ll want and need to ask where places and things are. In Japanese, in which politeness is all-important, asking where has a normal form, doko, and a polite form (dochira, which can also mean who).

      (Toire wa) Doko desu ka? (normal)

      (Toire wa) Dochira desu ka? (polite)

      As a guest or a special stranger, a foreigner will most likely be questioned with dochira, adding to the novice Japanese speaker’s confusion: are they being asked who, or where?

      Word order in questions generally, though not always, goes like this: Subject (if there is one), interrogative keyword (who, what, where, why, when), then verb. For instance:

Where is the toilet?	Who is it?
(Toire wa) Doko desu ka?	Dare desu ka?

      THE WRITTEN WORD

      As mentioned earlier, written Japanese is where the real language barrier springs up for many people. This hellishly complicated system combines four discrete elements:

      KANJI : The core of Japan’s writing system. Kanji came from China in the 4th century A.D., and have been modified greatly over the ensuing centuries. Most kanji have at least two pronunciations each: one or more original Chinese pronunciations, and one or more home-grown, Japanese pronunciations.