Introductions, meetings and e-mails: the polite set phrases a Japanese workplace runs on.
32 sentences · 3 dialogues · 17 words
Working with Japanese colleagues, clients or a Japanese company means meeting keigo, the system of honorific and humble language. It is the area learners fear most, and the one where a little goes a long way.
Much of everyday office Japanese is a fixed set of phrases. Learning them as whole units is faster than building them from the rules — and the rules are linked below for later.
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17 words from the word lists, ordered by level. A coloured edge shows what you have already practised.
Short dialogues to read along and repeat. Say one part first, then the other.
You meet a client for the first time.
はじめまして。山田と申します。How do you do? My name is Yamada.
はじめまして。シュミットと申します。名刺をどうぞ。How do you do? My name is Schmidt. Here is my card.
ありがとうございます。頂戴いたします。Thank you. I gratefully accept it.
こちらが私の名刺です。And this is mine.
ありがとうございます。本日はよろしくお願いいたします。Thank you. I look forward to working with you today.
こちらこそ、よろしくお願いいたします。Likewise.
A caller asks for your section chief, who is in a meeting.
お電話ありがとうございます。営業部のシュミットでございます。Thank you for calling. Sales department, Schmidt speaking.
佐藤と申しますが、田中課長はいらっしゃいますか。My name is Sato. Is Mr Tanaka, the section chief, there?
申し訳ございません。田中はただいま会議中です。I’m very sorry. Tanaka is in a meeting at the moment.
そうですか。では、お電話をいただけるよう、お伝えください。I see. Then please ask him to call me back.
かしこまりました。念のため、お電話番号を伺ってもよろしいですか。Certainly. Just to be sure, may I have your phone number?
はい。番号は名刺と同じです。Yes. It’s the same number as on my card.
You need to know when a piece of work is due.
先輩、ちょっといいですか。Have you got a moment?
うん、どうしたの？Sure, what’s up?
この資料の締め切りはいつですか。When is the deadline for these materials?
金曜日の午前中までにお願いね。By Friday morning, please.
わかりました。終わったら見ていただけますか。Understood. Could you look over it when I’ve finished?
もちろん。わからないことがあったら、いつでも聞いてね。Of course. If anything’s unclear, just ask.
The label says where a sentence belongs. The speaker next to it reads it aloud.
会社員です。I work for a company.
毎朝、電車で会社に行きます。I go to the office by train every morning.
九時から六時まで働いています。I work from nine to six.
今日は休みです。I’m off today.
はじめまして、シュミットと申します。How do you do? My name is Schmidt.
よろしくお願いいたします。I look forward to working with you.
お疲れさまです。Hello. (greeting between colleagues)
少々お待ちください。One moment, please.
会議は何時からですか。What time does the meeting start?
明日までにやっておきます。I will have it done by tomorrow.
明日、大阪に出張します。I’m going to Osaka on business tomorrow.
昨日は遅くまで残業しました。I worked late yesterday.
会議室はどこですか。Where is the meeting room?
締め切りはいつですか。When is the deadline?
この書類をコピーしてもらえますか。Could you copy this document for me?
部長は今、席を外しています。The head of department is away from his desk at the moment.
確認いたします。I will check.
資料をお送りします。I will send you the documents.
申し訳ございません。I am very sorry.
お先に失礼します。I’m off now — see you tomorrow.
名刺をどうぞ。Here is my card.
上司に相談してから、お返事します。I’ll give you an answer once I’ve discussed it with my manager.
この件の担当は私です。I’m the person in charge of this matter.
打ち合わせの時間を変更してもよろしいでしょうか。Would it be all right to change the time of the meeting?
来週の会議の資料を準備しておきます。I’ll get the materials for next week’s meeting ready.
同僚と一緒に昼ご飯を食べます。I have lunch with my colleagues.
田中はただいま外出しております。Tanaka is out of the office at the moment.
弊社の新製品について、ご説明いたします。Allow me to explain our new product.
御社のご意見を伺えますでしょうか。Could we hear your company’s view?
お忙しいところ恐れ入りますが、ご確認をお願いいたします。I’m sorry to trouble you when you are busy, but could you please check this?
承知いたしました。Understood. (formal)
来月から大阪支社に転勤することになりました。I’m being transferred to the Osaka branch from next month.
Keigo has two directions: raising the other person (honorific, 尊敬語) and lowering yourself (humble, 謙譲語).
申します lowers yourself.
尊敬語謙譲語申します
お疲れさまです is the all-purpose greeting among colleagues, at any time of day.
お疲れさまです
In e-mails and on the phone, polite phrases are expected even where English would be brief.
Speaking to someone outside the company, you refer to your own colleagues without さん — even your boss:
田中はただいま外出しております.
さん田中はただいま外出しております
6 questions on the words and sentences of this field. The word questions count in your progress like any other exercise.
Read the meaning, say the sentence aloud in Japanese, then open it to compare.
会社員です。
会議は何時からですか。
確認いたします。
来週の会議の資料を準備しておきます。
Every sentence on this page was written for EveryLingua. There are no quotations from films, series, books or songs here, and no titles or names of artists — the page shows how people talk in this field, not what somebody once said.
