Japanese for English speakers Cafe · Lesson 6

Special diets

Tell a waiter about food preferences — 辛い物 (karai mono, spicy things) — with the soft negation pattern あまり ...ません (amari ... masen, 'don't really ...').

Conversation

  1. Yaya Yaya

    カレーライスを一つお願いします。

    Karē raisu o hitotsu onegaishimasu.

    One curry rice, please

    Tip: <Karē raisu> = Curry rice

  2. Kyle Kyle

    辛い物を食べますか？

    Karai mono o tabemasu ka?

    Do you eat spicy things?

    Tip: <Karai> = Spicy, hot ("I" adjective) <Mono> = Thing, object, item <Tabemasu> = to eat

  3. Yaya Yaya

    いいえ、辛い物は

    Īe, karai mono wa

    No, spicy things,

  4. Yaya Yaya

    あまり食べません

    Amari tabemasen

    I don't really eat them.

    Tip: <Amari + negative verb/adjective> = I do not do (something)

Common questions

Quick answers about this lesson's grammar and vocabulary.

How do you say 'I don't really eat ...' in Japanese?

あまり食べません (amari tabemasen) — あまり + negative verb expresses 'not really' or 'not much'.

What is カレーライス (karē raisu)?

Japanese curry rice — a thick, mildly sweet curry sauce poured over rice. Very different from Indian curry, with a thicker roux-based texture.

What does 辛い (karai) mean?

Spicy or hot — an い-adjective. Note: it can also mean 'salty' in some contexts, like 辛い塩 (salty).

Test yourself

Pick the English translation for each line from this lesson. Wrong answers are pulled from other Japanese lessons.

4 quick questions on what you just heard.