Toolkit · Japan · Printable

The 30 Phrase Japanese Bank

Thirty phrases of functional Japanese in three categories, with romaji up front and plain glosses throughout. About 80% of the daily goodwill, no fluency required.

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The 30 Phrase Japanese Bank is a starter set of business Japanese: ten daily greetings, ten repair and apology phrases, and ten phrases for meetings and meals. Together they carry about 80% of the daily goodwill a foreign professional needs in a Japanese office.

In every workshop we run, someone asks whether they'll be taken seriously without fluent Japanese. You will. Your colleagues don't expect fluency, they notice effort, and trying imperfectly beats never trying.

Two entries in this bank get misread more than all the others combined. 'Hai' means 'I hear you', not yes. And 'chotto…', trailing off, is usually a polite no.

Daily greetings

The rhythm section. Japanese offices run on these ten, and using them marks you as someone who noticed.

Ohayou gozaimasu

おはようございます

Good morning. The standard office opener, used until late morning.
Otsukaresama desu

お疲れ様です

The all purpose work greeting. It honors effort and covers hello, goodbye, and thanks.
Otsukaresama deshita

お疲れ様でした

The version for the end of the day. Say it to anyone finishing work or heading home.
Hajimemashite

はじめまして

Nice to meet you. Opens every first introduction, including business card exchanges.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu

よろしくお願いします

Please look after this, and me. Closes introductions, requests, and most emails.
Osewa ni natte orimasu

お世話になっております

Thank you for your continued support. The standard opener with clients on calls and email.
Shitsurei shimasu

失礼します

Excuse the interruption. For entering a room, leaving one, or ending a phone call.
Osaki ni shitsurei shimasu

お先に失礼します

Excuse me for leaving ahead of you. Say it every time you leave the office first.
Ittekimasu

行ってきます

I'm off and I'll be back. For heading out to a meeting, a visit, or lunch.
Itterasshai

いってらっしゃい

See you when you get back. The warm reply when a colleague heads out.

Make it stick

How to make thirty phrases automatic

1.
Pick five, not thirty. Start with 'otsukaresama desu', 'yoroshiku onegaishimasu', 'sumimasen', 'osaki ni shitsurei shimasu', and 'kakunin shimasu'.
2.
Tie each phrase to a moment instead of memorizing a list: arriving, leaving, asking for something, making a mistake. You're building reflexes, and vocabulary comes along for the ride.
3.
Say them badly and say them early. Japanese has no stress accent, so give every syllable even weight and you'll be understood.
4.
When five feel automatic, add five more. For real study, Pimsleur works on a commute, NHK Easy News works for reading practice, and italki works for finding a tutor.

The greeting habit matters in writing too. In one field study of global teams, the relational tone of the very first message predicted the communication climate the team kept afterward (Glikson and Erez, 2020), and people who adapt their communication toward their counterparts build more effective working relationships (Presbitero, 2021).

Common questions

Do I need to speak Japanese to work in Japan?

For most corporate roles, no. English is the working language of many global teams in Tokyo, and colleagues don't expect fluency from foreign hires. What they notice is whether you try, and about thirty phrases of trying carries most of the daily goodwill you need.

Does 'hai' mean yes in Japanese?

Usually not. In conversation, 'hai' works like 'I hear you': it signals attention the way a nod does, so a string of hais during your pitch is not agreement. If you need a real yes, confirm the specifics in writing afterward.

What does 'chotto' mean in business Japanese?

Literally it means 'a little'. Delivered with a trailing pause, 'chotto…' is one of the most common polite refusals in Japanese business. Treat it as a soft no and offer an easy way out rather than pushing for a direct answer.

Which business Japanese phrases should I learn first?

Start with 'otsukaresama desu', the all purpose work greeting, 'yoroshiku onegaishimasu', which closes introductions and requests, and 'sumimasen', which covers excuse me, sorry, and thanks for the trouble. Those three cover most office moments. Add 'osaki ni shitsurei shimasu' for leaving first and 'kakunin shimasu' for buying time honestly, then grow from there.

Keep going

The Repair Toolkit

The three apology registers in depth, plus the five phrase sequence for repairing a real slip.

Course: Working With Japan

The seven module course these phrases come from, covering the culture around the words.

These phrases open doors, and what happens in the room after that takes practice. We run that practice for relocating executives and for teams working with Japan every day. See our cross cultural services or email us.

About this toolkit

Written and designed by Peak Potential Consulting, and free to use. Print it, share it with your team, and keep the credit with it. If you quote or adapt it, name us and link back. For use inside a paid training programme, talk to us first.