Japanese for English speakers Office · Lesson 0

Direction

Ask for directions in a Japanese building — 105室はどこですか (where is room 105?) — with vocabulary 突き当たり (all the way down) and 右/左 (right/left).

Conversation

  1. Bob Bob

    あの～、すみません

    anō, sumimasen

    Err, excuse me

  2. Bob Bob

    １０５室はどこですか？

    ichi maru go shitsu wa doko desu ka?

    Where is room 105?

    Tip: <shitsu> = room

  3. Bolin Bolin

    突き当りで、右です

    tsuki atari de, migi desu

    All the way down and to the right

    Tip: <tsukiatari> = all the way down <migi> = right

  4. Bob Bob

    ありがとうございました

    arigatō gozaimashita

    Thank you very much

Common questions

Quick answers about this lesson's grammar and vocabulary.

How do you ask 'where is ...' in Japanese?

...はどこですか (... wa doko desu ka). どこ is the question word for 'where'.

What does 突き当たり mean?

'All the way down' — the end of a hallway or street, where you can't go any further. Common in direction-giving.

How do you read room numbers in Japanese?

Digit by digit: 105 = いちまるご (ichi-maru-go), where 0 is read as 'maru' (circle) in addresses and codes.

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.

Next lesson in Office Not yet →