Most of the time you’ll probably only need to recognize the written Japanese phrase, but we’ve included audio so you can listen to the Japanese pronunciation. This way you’ll be able to ask if something is open or closed, or more importantly, on sale!
Let's begin this free audio lesson on signs in Japanese!
Resources for further reading:
- Top tips for learning Japanese online - Learn Japanese online the simple way
Signs in Japanese
Practice Your Pronunciation With Rocket Record
Rocket Record lets you perfect your Japanese pronunciation. Just listen to the native speaker audio and then use the microphone icon to record yourself. Once you’re done, you’ll get a score out of 100 on your pronunciation and can listen to your own audio playback. (Use a headset mic for best results.) Problems? Click here!
女
女子
おんな
じょし
onna
joshi
female
female
0%
男
男子
おとこ
だんし
otoko
danshi
male
male
0%
引く
ひく
hiku
pull
0%
押す
おす
osu
push
0%
開店
営業中
かいてん
えいぎょう ちゅう
kaiten
eigyō-chū
open (for business)
open (for business)
0%
閉店
へいてん
heiten
closed (for business)
0%
営業時間
えいぎょう じかん
eigyō jikan
opening hours
0%
駐車禁止
ちゅうしゃ きんし
chūsha kinshi
no parking
0%
When you buy food in a supermarket and don’t intend to eat it straight away it might pay to check the "best before date" to avoid nasty surprises!
賞味期限
しょうみ きげん
shōmi kigen
best-before date
0%
…までにお召し上がり下さい。
… まで に おめし あがり ください。
…made ni omeshiagari kudasai.
Please it before ...
0%
And if you ever see a 禁煙 (kin'en) sign, that means "no smoking":
禁煙
きんえん
kin'en!
no smoking
0%
Sometimes you will see big bright colored signs in store windows to indicate sales:
値引き
ねびき
nebiki
markdown (in price)
0%
格安
かくやす
kakuyasu
reduced (price)
0%
バーゲンセール
バーゲン セール
bāgen sēru
bargain sale
0%
That’s it for this lesson. I hope you had fun!
For more lessons on Japanese vocabulary I recommend these!
- Break the ice by using vocab to do with sports in Japanese.
- DIY while in Japan? This lesson covers the essential vocab for tools in Japanese.
- This lesson is all about using a computer in Japanese.
また ね！ (Mata ne!) "See you later!"
Sayaka Matsuura: Rocket Japanese
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