a little language help.

i live in japan. and feel blessed. it is an amazing country. full of so much crafting goodness. though they study english in junior high and high school. it is sometimes difficult to find somebody that speaks english. so. it is always good to have a bit of japanese up your sleeve. for while you are over here.

pronunciation:

the vowels in japanese are pronounced the same as the vowels in the words JUDO and SPAGHETTI. the vowel combination AI sounds like eye. the combination EI sounds like the ay sound in the word may. you can sound out the other vowel combinations.

general words and phrases:

konnichiwa - hello

kudasai - please

sumimasen - excuse me or i'm sorry. this is a very useful phrase.

gommen(nasai) - i'm sorry. (adding the nasai makes it more polite.)

wakarimasen - i don't understand.

arigato (gozaimasu) - thank you. (adding the gozaimasu makes it more polite.)

kore wa doko desu ka? where is this?
___ wa arimasu ka? do you have ___ ?

fabric shopping words and phrases:

ichi - one, ni - two, san - three, shi - four, go - five, roku - six, nana - seven, hachi - eight, kyu - nine, ju - ten.

cenchi - centimetre

meta - metre

examples:

nana-ju cenchi kudasai. seventy centimetres please.

ni meta kudasai. two metres please.

ichi meta go-ju cenchi kudasai. one metre and fifty centimetres please.

san ten go meta kudasai. 3.5 metres please.

the metric system is used in japan. many fabric shops only take cash. my local fabric shops sell there fabric in 10 cm increments. but other shops may differ. if you would like to know how to say something else in japanese ... just let me know.