Japanese phrases: greetings and everyday expressions
The Japanese phrases you will use most are こんにちは (konnichiwa, hello), ありがとうございます (arigatō gozaimasu, thank you), すみません (sumimasen, excuse me or sorry) and お願いします (onegaishimasu, please). Each one below has its own page: the polite and casual forms, when to use it and when not, real examples and the mistakes to avoid.
Every phrase is written in hiragana, with a few kanji, and foreign names go in katakana. The romaji is Hepburn: a line over a vowel (ō, ū) makes it long. For when to be polite and when casual, see polite and casual Japanese.
Greetings
挨拶Hello, good morning, good night and goodbye: the time of day and the person decide which one.
Thanks and apologies
お礼とお詫びThank you, you're welcome and sorry, and why すみません can mean thanks, sorry and excuse me at once.
Meeting people
初対面Introduce yourself, close with よろしくお願いします, and get names and titles right.
Daily life
日常Asking for things, sitting down to eat, and saying how you feel.
Questions people ask
Say it out loud, with feedback
Knowing a phrase is not the same as saying it. In Naraio you practice phrases like these in short role plays with Hana, a tutor who listens, answers in natural Japanese and scores your pronunciation, and spaced reviews bring them back before they fade.