Food for Thought: Ordering in Japanese

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Normally, ordering food is quite easy. We walk up to the counter of a fast food restaurant and we say a few words to the staff to place our orders and pay. This changes only slightly when we go to restaurants, but most of the vocabulary we use in these situations hardly change. That being said, what seems like second nature to the native language speaker can be extremely daunting for those still learning a new language. In my case, I had to take a crash course on ordering in Japanese because I never covered this scenario in any of my Japanese classes back home. To help those that want to order correctly in Japanese, I decided to write a blog entry on eating in Japan. In this blog we will cover: vocabulary, useful phrases, and how to order at different locations.

What should I eat?

Rest assured that thinking about what to eat is still easy in Japan but putting your thoughts into words may prove to be a bit challenging. For instance, at most fast-food restaurants, the menus usually have a large amount of Katakana. This can be difficult for several reasons. First, reading the katakana can take time, especially when a few of the symbols look very similar, like ใ‚ท(shi) and ใƒ„(tsu). I know that on more that one occasion, Iโ€™ve spent at least 2-3 minutes trying to decipher all the katakana in the Japanese McDonalds near my university.

(My first McDonalds in Japan. It looks the same to me ^^)

Secondly, when at a restaurant, especially a fast-food restaurant, the staff always speak quickly, so you can get easily overwhelmed. But, donโ€™t fret over the small stuff, like using the wrong counter, or messing up a conjugation because failure is a part of the learning process. If you have to ask the shop staff to repeat what they just said, they will always do so. Also, Japanese people will try to attend to you as best as they can in English, but donโ€™t always count on that. Thatโ€™s why itโ€™s important to study up on a few key words that are always used at restaurants, so that the Japanese people at wherever youโ€™re eating will look at you in astonishment and respect. They might even say, โ€œๆ—ฅๆœฌ่ชžใŒไธŠๆ‰‹ใงใ™ใญโ€. Which roughly translates to, โ€œyour Japanese is quite good.โ€

Foods (้ฃŸใน็‰ฉ)

ใƒใƒณใƒใƒผใ‚ฌใƒผ  Hamburger ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€                                  ใŠๅผๅฝ“(ในใ‚“ใจใ†)๏ผˆใ‹ใ‚‰ใ’ๅผๅฝ“ใ€ใŽใ‚‡ใ†ใ–ๅผๅฝ“๏ผ‰Bento

ใƒ•ใƒฉใ‚คใƒ‰ใƒใƒ†ใƒˆFrench Fries                                                   ใƒฉใƒผใƒกใƒณ๏ผˆใ—ใ‚‡ใ†ใ‚†ใ€ใจใ‚“ใ“ใคใ€ใฟใ๏ผ‰Ramen

ใƒใ‚ญใƒณใƒŠใ‚ฒใƒƒใƒˆ Chicken nuggetsใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€                             ็„ผ่‚‰(ใ‚„ใใซใ) Grilled meat

ใ‚ตใƒฉใƒ€  salad                                                                              ็„ผใ้ณฅ(ใ‚„ใใจใ‚Š) Grilled Chicken

Drinks (้ฃฒใฟ็‰ฉ)

็ด…่Œถ(ใ“ใ†ใกใ‚ƒ) European Teaใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ ๆฐด(ใฟใš) Water

ใŠ่Œถ(ใŠใกใ‚ƒ) Japanese Tea                                                          ็”Ÿ(ใชใพ)ใƒ“ใƒผใƒซ Beer on Tap

ใ‚ณใƒผใƒ’ใƒผ Coffee                                                                              ใŠ้…’(ใ•ใ‘) Sake/liquor

ใ‚ธใƒฅใƒผใ‚น Juice                                                                                   ใ‚ณใƒผใƒฉ Cola

Misc Words (่‰ฒใ‚“ใช่จ€่‘‰)

(ใ”)ๆณจๆ–‡ (ใกใ‚…ใ†ใ‚‚ใ‚“) Orderใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€ใ€€๏ผˆใŠ๏ผ‰ใ‹ใ‚“ใ˜ใ‚‡ใ† Bill/check

ใƒกใƒ‹ใƒฅใƒผ Menu                                                           ใ€€                                  ใ‚ปใƒƒใƒˆ Set (Set at McDonalds)

ไบˆ็ด„(ใ‚ˆใ‚„ใ) Reservation                                                         ใ€€                       ใŠใ‹ใ‚ใ‚Š Second Serving

One Phrase to Rule them All

Now, you might be thinking, โ€œHey, isnโ€™t that vocab list a little too small.โ€ Well, you are absolutely right! I would put more vocabulary words in the sections above, but the sheer quantity of words in Japanese that pertain to eating could fill up about 15 pages (thatโ€™s a low estimate). However, the list above includes many of the most common words I have encounter while eating out in Japan.

Because you know the word for the thing that you are trying to buy, we can now move onto the act of ordering. Ordering food can feel really stressful because we all just want to be understood, so that we can eat. Well rest assured, from what Iโ€™ve learned in class and in person, the most important phrase to use when ordering is ใŠใญใŒใ„ใ—ใพใ™. It is literally used to end every sentence when placing an order because it means โ€œpleaseโ€. ใใ ใ•ใ„ can also be used interchangeably with ใŠใญใŒใ„ใ—ใพใ™, it just depends on preference.

_______ใ‚’๏ผ‘ใคใŠใญใŒใ„ใ—ใพใ™ใ€‚This sentence is the basis of any order (ใ”ๆณจๆ–‡) because you are asking for one of something. That something can be a food or a drink, but as long as you know this simple set phrase you can order in Japanese. I would like to emphasis the importance of the standard Japanese counters for “things” because they are used every time you order (The hiragana in red). Also, to make a more complex order, you simply need to add ใจ after the counter.

Letโ€™s Try a Family Restaurant

With the โ€œOne phrase to rule them allโ€ in mind, you can now see how useful it is in various situations. For instance, below I will type-out a typical conversation between a waitress and a customer at Saizeria (the most common family restaurant Iโ€™ve seen in Tokyo).

Shop Staff: ใ„ใ‚‰ใฃใ—ใ‚ƒใ„ใพใ›ใ€‚ใ”ใกใ‚…ใ†ใ‚‚ใ‚“ใ€ใ‚ˆใ‚ใ—ใ„ใงใ™ใ‹ใ€‚(Are you ready to order?)

Customer: ใฏใ„ใ€‚ใƒใ‚บใƒ”ใ‚ถ๏ผ‘ใคใจใ‚ตใƒฉใƒ€๏ผ‘ใคใŠใญใŒใ„ใ—ใพใ™ใ€‚(One cheese pizza and one salad, please.)

Shop Staff: ใŠใฎใฟใ‚‚ใฎใฏใฉใ†ใชใ•ใ„ใพใ™ใ‹ใ€‚(Would you like some drinks?)

Customer: ใ‚ปใƒƒใƒˆใƒ‰ใƒชใƒณใ‚ฏใƒใƒผใ‚’ใŠใญใŒใ„ใ—ใพใ™ใ€‚(Set drink bar please)

Shop Staff: ใ‹ใ—ใ“ใพใ‚Šใพใ—ใŸใ€‚ใƒใ‚บใƒ”ใ‚ถ๏ผ‘ใคใ€ใ‚ตใƒฉใƒ€๏ผ‘ใคใ€ใ‚ปใƒƒใƒˆใƒ‰ใƒชใƒณใ‚ฏใƒใƒผ๏ผ‘ใคใ€ใ„ใ˜ใ‚‡ใ†ใงใ‚ˆใ‚ใ—ใ„ใงใ—ใ‚‡ใ†ใ‹ใ€‚(Ok. One cheese pizza, one salad and one set drink bar. Is that all?)

Customer: ใฏใ„ (Yes)

Shop Staff: ใ‹ใ—ใ“ใพใ‚Šใพใ—ใŸใ€‚ใ—ใ‚‡ใ†ใ—ใ‚‡ใ†ใ€ใŠๅพ…ใกใใ ใ•ใ„ใ€‚(Okay. Please wait a moment.)

Alberto Weeks

*DC Area Scholarship <i>Hello in your host country language</i>: Kon'nichiwa <i> University</i>: University of Maryland, College Park <i>Expected graduation year</i>: 2019 <i>Destination</i>: Tokyo, Japan <i>Program Provider</i>: University Sponsored <i>Major / Minor</i>: Cultural Anthropology and Spanish Literature / Japanese <i>Language of Study</i>: Japanese <i>Demographic background</i>: First-generation, Latinx <i>Future career aspirations</i>: JET Program Assistant Language Teacher or a Foreign Service Officer at the State Department. <i>Top 3 goals for study abroad</i>: To become more proficient in Japanese; To gain a better understanding of Japanese culture; To build upon my self-confidence.