Asking 'how are you?' in Japanese

How do you ask "How are you?" in Japanese – and how do you reply? This free Japanese audio lesson is essential for your Japanese language survival kit, whether you’re traveling to Japan or getting to know Japanese people closer to home.

By the end of this lesson you’ll know the formal and informal ways to for ask people how they are to ensure you make a good first impression. And just in case you need to apologize… you’ll learn how to say sorry in Japanese as well! Feeling confident with these basic Japanese words and phrases will make such a positive difference to your experiences with Japanese people. Remember, a stranger is just a friend you haven’t met yet!

As hard as you try, without helpful feedback your Japanese pronunciation is never going to be the same as a native speaker’s. If you've found it difficult to perfect the way you say Japanese words and phrases, this lesson will help you.

Using the blue Rocket Record buttons you can record the way you ask and reply to each question, and compare it with the way a Japanese native speaker does. That’s right, with Rocket Japanese voice mapping technology you can record your voice as many times as you need until your pronunciation matches the Japanese speaker!

Others disagree. They say that there are THREE important phrases that you absolutely must know in any language. They are:

Yoku dekimashita!

Sayaka Matsuura
Rocket Japanese

Exercise 1: Pretend that you are meeting a friend of yours named Yoshiko. You can print this lesson out and write in your response in Japanese to the questions below. (Note: There’s not a single right answer.)

Exercise 2: Read the following conversation and translate it into English below.