seen you around for a while.
◆ Hisashiburi-ne. ♀
久ひさしぶりね。
◆ Hisashiburi-dane.
久ひさしぶりだね。
With a rising intonation, the sentence becomes “Haven’t seen you around for a while, have I?”
And which parts of the phrase you stress also make a big difference—stressing a yo emphasizes that you’re pushing your opinion. Stressing the sō in sō-dane/sō des-ne そうだ ね/そうですね (that’s right) means you agree more strongly.
Finally, put emotion into your voice. You might think that the Japanese spoken around you is emotionless because it seems so fast, but nothing could be further from the truth. Put feeling into your voice as you would in English, and your message will be loud and clear.
THE LAST WORD
Does all of this sound really daunting? It shouldn’t! Think of this introduction as a reference page for your journey through the Japanese-speaking world. Just keep these points in mind, and you’ll find this book a valuable resource to speed your street Japanese skills along.
And there’s one last thing: the Japanese love to see foreigners making an effort to speak Japanese! Through their troubles learning English, they know how hard it is, so even if you can’t get the point across to start with, keep trying and you’ll earn more respect. And if you’re using real phrases like the ones in this book, all the better!
1 What’s Up?
Hello! Hi!
Ohayō!
おはよう！
Kon’nichi-wa!
こんにちは！
Konban-wa!
こんばんは！
Ohayō! is used in the morning, say until 10 a.m., and with people you’re seeing for the first time that day. Kon’nichiwa! is for the daytime, and Konban-wa! for the evening. As everyday phrases, there are many variations and contractions of these, formal and informal, and they differ between regions of Japan—but these are the universal standards!
Haven’t seen you around for a while.
Hisashiburi.
久ひさしぶり。
Hisashiburi-dayo-ne.
久ひさしぶりだよね。
This is the first of many overused phrases you’ll come across in this book; Hisashiburi is a natural and integral part of a greeting to someone you haven’t seen for a while.
How are you?
Genki?
元げん気き?
How’s it going?
Genki datta?
元げん気きだった？
Saikin dō? Genki?
最さい近きんどう? 元げん気き?
So we’ve met again.
Mata atta-ne.
また会あったね。
I wanted to see you/I missed you.
Aitakatta.
会あいたかった。
You can use this to a friend (as in “I missed you”) or to your lover (as in “I was lonely without you”), though naturally you’ll put more feeling into the latter. It can also be used about a third person.
How have you been doing (recently)?
(Saikin) DM shiteta?
(最さい近きん) どうしてた？
(Saikin) Nani shiteta?
(最さい近きん) 何なにしてた？
What have you been doing?
Nani yatteta-no?
何なにやってたの？
Usually for asking what’s happened just before or just recently (e.g. in the last week).
What’s up?
Nan-ka kawatta-koto atta?
何なんか変かわったことあった?
Not used as a first greeting, and more appropriate for someone you haven’t seen for a while (e.g. a week, a month), especially if you think something might have changed. It literally means “Has something special (unusual) happened to you?” Answers could be Betsu-ni 別べつに, Nani-mo 何なにも (“Nothing much”), or a description of whatever has happened.
What’s happening?
Dō shita-no?
どうしたの？
You know what’s going on, but you missed a bit of it.
Nani-ka atta-no?
何なにかあったの？
For when you don’t know what’s going on.
What have you been talking about?
Nani hanashiteta-no?
何なに話はなしてたの？
Nothing much.
Betsu-ni nani-mo.
別べつに何なにも。
Betsu-ni.
別べつに。
Nani-mo.
何なにも。
Toku-ni (nai)
特とくに（ない）。
Nothing special.
Betsu-ni kawan’nai.
別べつに変かわんない。
Aikawarazu.
相あい変かわらず。
Okay, I guess.
Anmari.
あんまり。
I’m fine.
Genki.
元げん気き。
Genki-yo. ♀
元げん気きよ。
Genki-dayo. ♂
元げん気きだよ。
Māne.
まあね。
So-so/Not good, not bad.
Mā-mā.
まあまあ。
What’s wrong?
Dōka shita-no?
どうかしたの？
Nan-ka atta-no?
何なにかあったの？
These are general enquiries