Shopping, money and services

What holds these lists together

Shopping is where a learner first hears polite language aimed at them rather than produced by them. The assistant calls out いらっしゃいませ and expects no reply, asks ポイントカードはお持(も)ちですか, and closes with ありがとうございました in the past tense, thanking you for something already done. These phrases come fast and never change, so the lists give them whole, to be recognised rather than built. The post office and the bank are here too, because in Japan the post office also keeps savings accounts and makes transfers, and the two share much of their vocabulary. Further up come pay, rent, bills and the fees and repairs that a service counter deals with.

For example: 買(か)う (to buy), 案内所(あんないじょ) (information desk), 手紙(てがみ) (letter), 給料(きゅうりょう) (pay; salary; wages), 配達(はいたつ) (delivery), 服装(ふくそう) (clothes; what someone is wearing)

Spread across the levels

The category runs across the levels — it is an area, not a difficulty. If you practise it, you can also choose a level at the top of the practice page and then get only the part that sits there.