Asking for help
すみません、手伝っていただけますか。
Sumimasen, tetsudatte itadakemasu ka.
Excuse me, could you help me?
Life Japanese
Japanese for city hall, apartments, banks, hospitals, schools, trains, and daily life.
Living in Japan is not only grammar and vocabulary. It is counters, forms, polite questions, neighborhood rules, health insurance, bank accounts, train announcements, emergency calls, apartment contracts, and the small Japanese that makes daily life easier.
This page teaches practical daily-life Japanese. For legal, medical, banking, school, housing, immigration, or emergency matters, always confirm with the relevant official office or qualified professional.
Life principle: Japanese is not only for passing tests. It is for getting through Tuesday afternoon in Japan.
Start here
Life Japanese begins with asking safely.
Daily life in Japan often begins at a counter: city hall, bank, hospital, post office, apartment office, train station, school, police box, or convenience store. The safest beginner skill is knowing how to ask, confirm, and slow the conversation down.
Confirming
確認させてください。
Kakunin sasete kudasai.
Please let me confirm.
Slower speech
もう少しゆっくりお願いします。
Mō sukoshi yukkuri onegai shimasu.
A little more slowly, please.
Not understanding
すみません、よく分かりません。
Sumimasen, yoku wakarimasen.
Sorry, I do not understand well.
Writing it down
書いていただけますか。
Kaite itadakemasu ka.
Could you write it down?
Appointment
予約をしたいです。
Yoyaku o shitai desu.
I would like to make an appointment.
Choose your daily-life situation
Where do you need Japanese first?
01
City Hall Japanese
Residence registration, health insurance, pension, forms, certificates, taxes, and official counters.
02
Apartment Japanese
Rent, contracts, guarantors, utilities, trash rules, repairs, neighbors, and move-in questions.
03
Hospital Japanese
Symptoms, appointments, insurance card, pharmacy, pain, allergies, fever, and emergency language.
04
Train & Travel Japanese
Stations, tickets, delays, transfers, lost items, directions, announcements, and travel safety.
City hall readiness
Can you handle the counter?
City hall is where many foreign residents first discover that daily-life Japanese matters. Forms, identification, residence cards, health insurance, address changes, taxes, and certificates all require calm, practical language.
住所変更の手続きをしたいです。
Jūsho henkō no tetsuzuki o shitai desu.
I would like to complete the address-change procedure.
This is real life Japanese. It is not dramatic. It is necessary. Good daily Japanese helps you finish the paperwork and leave with confidence.
The quiet truth
Daily life is where Japanese becomes belonging.
A person can love Japan, study Japan, work in Japan, and still feel lost at the counter. The apartment office speaks quickly. The hospital form asks unfamiliar questions. The train announcement changes the platform. The city hall clerk asks for one more document.
Life Japanese is the language of staying calm. It is the Japanese that lets you ask again, confirm the fee, explain the symptom, show your card, call the landlord, apologize to a neighbor, and understand what happens next. This is where language becomes dignity.
Core life skills
Every resident needs these six language habits.
Ask
A safe question can solve most daily-life problems. Learn to ask simply, politely, and without panic.
- どこですか
- どうすればいいですか
- 何が必要ですか
Confirm
Confirming prevents mistakes with documents, times, fees, appointments, addresses, and rules.
- 確認します
- これで大丈夫ですか
- もう一度お願いします
Explain
You need to explain symptoms, broken appliances, lost items, late trains, missed payments, and basic problems.
- 困っています
- なくしました
- 壊れています
Emergency
Emergency Japanese should be learned early. You do not want to look up these words when you need them.
- 助けてください
- 救急車を呼んでください
- 警察を呼んでください
Daily phrase bank
Small Japanese that gets things done.
These phrases are beginner-friendly but powerful. They work at counters, stations, stores, offices, hospitals, schools, and apartment-management desks.
What do I need?
何が必要ですか。
Nani ga hitsuyō desu ka.
What is needed?
Is this okay?
これで大丈夫ですか。
Kore de daijōbu desu ka.
Is this okay?
How much?
いくらですか。
Ikura desu ka.
How much is it?
Where?
どこに行けばいいですか。
Doko ni ikeba ii desu ka.
Where should I go?
Lost item
財布をなくしました。
Saifu o nakushimashita.
I lost my wallet.
Something is broken
エアコンが壊れています。
Eakon ga kowarete imasu.
The air conditioner is broken.
Life Japanese by level
JLPT levels are useful, but daily life has its own test.
Life does not wait for N2. Even N5 learners need survival Japanese immediately. Build daily-life ability from the beginning.
N5
Survival basicsGreetings, numbers, dates, places, directions, prices, appointments, and asking for help.
N4
Daily independenceSimple forms, shopping, trains, restaurants, apartment basics, school notices, and common requests.
N3
Resident bridgeCity hall questions, medical symptoms, explanations, phone calls, problem reporting, and longer notices.
N2
Confident lifeContracts, official letters, school communication, work-life overlap, hospitals, banking, and complex explanations.
Training plans
Pick a life-Japanese plan.
7-day survival start
Best for: brand-new arrivals or travelers.
- Hiragana sound review
- Numbers, dates, and time
- Asking for help
- Station phrases
- Convenience store phrases
- Emergency words
30-day resident plan
Best for: people moving to Japan.
- City hall language
- Apartment and utility language
- Bank and phone-contract basics
- Hospital and pharmacy phrases
- Train and lost-item practice
- Daily listening habit
90-day independence plan
Best for: long-term residents.
- Reading official notices
- Phone-call practice
- School and family language
- Neighborhood rules
- Problem explanations
- N3/N2 life vocabulary
Emergency words
Learn these before you need them.
Emergency language should be simple, direct, and memorized. Do not wait until a crisis.
Help
助けてください。
Tasukete kudasai.
Please help me.
Ambulance
救急車を呼んでください。
Kyūkyūsha o yonde kudasai.
Please call an ambulance.
Police
警察を呼んでください。
Keisatsu o yonde kudasai.
Please call the police.
FAQ
Life Japanese questions
Do I need JLPT N2 to live comfortably in Japan?
Not necessarily. Many daily-life tasks can be handled with N5, N4, and N3-level Japanese. But N2 helps with official letters, contracts, work, banking, school communication, and more complex situations.
What should beginners learn first for life in Japan?
Learn hiragana, numbers, dates, time, asking for help, confirming, directions, prices, appointments, and emergency phrases. These are more urgent than advanced grammar.
Is Life Japanese different from Work Japanese?
Yes. Work Japanese focuses on offices, customers, email, interviews, and keigo. Life Japanese focuses on city hall, banks, hospitals, apartments, trains, schools, stores, and emergencies.
What is the most useful daily-life phrase?
確認させてください — “Please let me confirm.” It is useful at city hall, banks, hospitals, apartments, schools, stations, and offices.
Should I memorize emergency phrases?
Yes. Emergency words should be learned early and practiced out loud. In an emergency, simple direct Japanese is better than perfect Japanese.
The Nihongo.co.jp method
Daily Japanese is dignity.
The goal is not to sound perfect. The goal is to ask, confirm, explain, read, listen, and stay calm. Life Japanese helps you become less dependent, less afraid, and more at home in Japan.