My First Impressions of Japanese After Arriving in Japan

Before coming to Japan, my Japanese was roughly at the level of knowing the fifty sounds. Like many people, I thought I could study properly after arriving in Japan and being surrounded by the language. What I did not realize was that language school classes in Japan are taught entirely in Japanese from the very first lesson.

For Chinese students, I think this may actually be less efficient than being taught by a Chinese teacher who knows Japanese well.

Below are some common phrases and words I encountered every day at Japanese language school and in class during the early stage. I will also touch a little on part-time work, trends in everyday Japanese, and the Japanese typing method I use.

Everyday Language School Japanese

Greetings at School

When you meet teachers and classmates in the morning, you can say:

おはようございます。 (Good morning)

At other times, say:

こんにちは。 (Hello)

At the Start of Class

When class is about to begin, the teacher says:

はじめましょう。 (Let’s begin)

Then the class leader says:

きりつ／起立
れい／礼 (Bow)

At this moment, we bow and say:

よろしくおねがいします。 (Please treat me well / I look forward to learning with you)

Then the class leader says:

ちゃくせき／着席 (Please sit)

During Class

The teacher often says:

わかりますか。 (Do you understand?)
みてください。 (Please look)
きいてください。 (Please listen)
かいてください。 (Please write)
すみません。 (Excuse me / sorry)
いいです。 (Good / okay)
すばらしい。 (Wonderful)

At the End of Class

When one class ends, the teacher says:

やすみましょう。 (Let’s take a break)

When the day’s classes are over, the teacher says:

おわりましょう。 (Let’s finish)

Then the vice class leader says:

きりつ／起立、れい／礼

At this moment, we bow and say:

ありがとうございます(ました)。 (Thank you)

Finally, we say to the teacher and classmates:

さようなら (Goodbye)

Common Words at the Beginning

Japanese at Part-Time Work

In Japan, international students can legally work up to 28 hours per week. This kind of work is called アルバイト, and in daily speech it is often shortened to バイト.

When I first started working part-time, I knew very little Japanese. At work, I noticed that colleagues did not say こんにちは when they met. Even at night, I heard them say おはよう.

Later, I found that other beginners were also confused by this. The teacher explained that in the past, work usually began during the day, and おはよう became the standard greeting when starting work. Even after night shifts became common, people kept the same habit. So at work, people greet each other with おはよう when starting a shift, whether it is day or night.

A Trend in Everyday Japanese

I noticed that katakana is becoming more common in Japan, in convenience stores, supermarkets, online spaces, and among young people.

For example, a mobile phone can be called 携帯 or 携帯電話, but in daily life, スマホ is more common.

Most katakana words come from English, but so far I still find them hard to remember and hard to understand.

Japanese Typing Tips

The Japanese syllabary has five vowels, ten consonant rows, and the nasal ん. In romaji, the basic pattern is aiueo, kstnhmyrw, and n. Voiced consonants include gzjb, and the semi-voiced consonant is p.

• Kana can be typed by combining the consonant and vowel from the syllabary. Some kana have special pronunciations and can also be typed by their actual sound.
• There are three common ways to type the small っ: xtu, xtsu, or doubling the first consonant of the following kana.
• For contracted sounds, type the consonant of the first kana plus the romaji of the second kana. If pronunciation is special, you can often type the consonant part of the first kana plus the vowel of the second.
• The nasal ん is typed by pressing n twice.

My habit is to type by actual pronunciation. For example, I type shi for し and sha for しゃ. I type chi for ち and chu for ちゅ.

Popular Japanese Input Method

Simeji（しめじ） is a Japanese input method popular among Gen Z users. If you are looking for a Japanese keyboard, it may be worth trying to see whether it suits you.