Eng 
日本語 
Do you struggle with shopping in Japanese, not knowing how to aswer when the shop staffs ask what you are looking for? In this week’s episode, we give an example scenario of a customer looking to find a white T-shirt. We hear two native speakers have a conversation in the roles of the shop staff and the customer.
In this conversation, starts from the customer entering to the shop, followed by the shop staff recommending a few shirts, to trying the clothes on. The conversation ends with the customer deciding to buy the clothes, and then shop staff guiding her to the cashier.
Table of contents
In Ep 4 – Shopping:
- 00:36 How to ask “Are you looking for anything”
- 00:39 How to tell another person what you want to buy
- 01:05 How the staff asks if you want to try the shirt on
- 01:22 How to give your own opinion
- 01:28 How to ask for a different size
- 02:12 English translation of the conversation
- 05:00 Key vocabulary and phrases to know
Transcript
Shop Staff: いらっしゃいませ! 何かお探しでしょうか?
irasshaimase! nanika osagashideshouka?
Welcome! Can I help you with anything?
Customer: はい、白いT-シャツを買いたいです。
hai, shiroi t-shatsu wo kaitai desu.
Yes, I would like to buy a white t-shirt.
Shop Staff: 夏にはぴったりですね。何用でT-シャツを着ますか？
natsu niwa pittari desune. nani you de t-shatsu wo kimasuka?
That is great for summer. On what occasion will you be wearing the t-shirt?
Customer: 普段用で着ます。
fudanyou de kimasu
For casual occasions.
Shop Staff: そうですか。無地のT-シャツもありますし、
グラフィックやボーダー柄のT-シャツあります。色々ありますので、少々お待ちください。
soudesuka. muji no t-shatsu mo arimasushi, gurafikku ya bōdā gara no t-shatsu arimasu.
iroiro arimasunode, shoushou omachikudasai.
I see. We have plain shirts, graphic, and border patterned shirts.
Please wait for a moment, we have many varieties.
Customer: はーい。
hāi
Sure.
Shop Staff: お待たせしました。ご試着になさいますか？
omataseshimashita. goshichaku ni nasaimasuka?
Thank you for waiting. Will you be trying these on?
Customer: はい。T-シャツ3枚を試着したいです。
hai. t-shatsu sanmai wo shichaku shitai desu.
Yes. I would like to try on those 3 shirts.
Shop Staff: こちらへどうぞ、フェイスカバーもお使いください。
kochira he douzo, feisukabā mo otsukaikudasai.
I’ll show you the way. Please use the face cover as well.
Customer: ありがとうございます。
arigatougozaimasu
Thank you.
Shop Staff: お疲れ様です。いかがなさいますか？
otsukaresamadesu. ikaganasaimasuka?
How did you like it?
Customer: そうですね、ボーダー柄のT-シャツが一番よかったと思います。
この同じシャツのMサイズはありますか？
soudesune, bōdā gara no t-shatsu ga ichiban yokatta to omoimasu.
kono onaji shatsu no emu saizu wa arimasuka?
I liked the border t-shirt the most. Do you have it in size M as well?
Shop Staff: もちろんです。お持ちいたします。
mochiron desu. omochi itashimasu.
Certainly, I’ll bring it to you now.
Customer: ありがとうございます。今から着てみます。
arigatougozaimasu. imakara kitemimasu.
Thank you. I’ll try it on as well.
Shop Staff:いかがでしょうか？
ikagadeshouka?
How did it go?
Customer: サイズはちょうどよかったです。
saizu wa choudo yokattadesu
It was the perfect size.
Shop Staff:よかったです。他のものをご覧になられますか？
yokatta desu. hokano mono wo goran ni nararemasuka?
That is very good to know. Will you be looking around for other stuff as well?
Customer: 大丈夫です。お会計をお願いします。
daijōbu desu. okaikei wo onegaishimasu
No, it’s alright. I would like to proceed to payment.
Shop Staff:ありがとうございます。こちらへどうぞ。
arigatōgozaimasu. kochira he douzo.
Thank you very much. I will show you the way.
Key Vocabulary and Phrases to know
- 探す(sagasu) – to find
- t-シャツ (T-shatsu) – t-shirt
- 夏 (natsu) – summer
- 着る (kiru) – to wear
- 普段 (fudan) – normally
- 無地 (muji) – plain
- グラフィック (gurafikku) – graphic
- ボーダー (bōdā) – border
- 試着 (shichaku) – to try on
- サイズ (saizu) – size
- 会計 (kaikei) – payment
Please stay tuned to Coto Sounds for the next episode! Ep 6 is a continuing episode to Ep 5, where we look at how payment is like in Japanese.
We hope this episode has helped with understanding more Japanese conversations and phrases.
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