Welcome
いらっしゃいませ。
Irasshaimase.
Welcome.
Used by staff to greet customers entering a shop or service space.
Work Japanese
Customer Japanese: stay polite, calm, clear, and useful.
Customer-facing Japanese is high-stakes language. You need to greet politely, listen carefully, confirm details, explain simply, apologize when needed, and hand off problems without panic.
Use these phrases as practical patterns. Real customer language varies by industry, company, seniority, and situation.
Customer rule: Your first job is not to answer fast. Your first job is to understand correctly.
Start here
The safest customer phrases
These phrases are useful in reception, shops, hotels, phone support, sales, service counters, and customer-facing offices.
How may I help?
ご用件をお伺いしてもよろしいでしょうか。
Goyouken o oukagai shite mo yoroshii deshou ka.
May I ask what you need?
Polite and useful for reception or support.
Please wait a moment
少々お待ちください。
Shoushou omachi kudasai.
Please wait a moment.
One of the most important customer-service phrases.
Please let me confirm
確認させてください。
Kakunin sasete kudasai.
Please let me confirm.
Use before answering if you are not completely sure.
I apologize
申し訳ございません。
Moushiwake gozaimasen.
I sincerely apologize.
Formal apology for customer-facing situations.
I will check with the person in charge
担当者に確認いたします。
Tantousha ni kakunin itashimasu.
I will confirm with the person in charge.
Use when you need support or approval.
Customer flow
A safe customer-service conversation
Customer Japanese works best when you follow a calm order: greet, listen, confirm, explain, act, close.
Greeting and reception
Open the conversation safely.
Reception Japanese should be warm, polite, and not too complicated.
Welcome
いらっしゃいませ。
Irasshaimase.
Welcome.
Name, please
お名前をお伺いしてもよろしいでしょうか。
Onamae o oukagai shite mo yoroshii deshou ka.
May I ask your name?
Appointment?
ご予約はございますか。
Goyoyaku wa gozaimasu ka.
Do you have a reservation / appointment?
Please wait here
こちらでお待ちください。
Kochira de omachi kudasai.
Please wait here.
Confirming details
Customer service is confirmation.
Confirming protects both the customer and the company. Do not guess.
Let me confirm
念のため、確認させてください。
Nen no tame, kakunin sasete kudasai.
Please let me confirm, just to be safe.
Confirm the name
お名前を確認させてください。
Onamae o kakunin sasete kudasai.
Please let me confirm your name.
Confirm the date
日程を確認いたします。
Nittei o kakunin itashimasu.
I will confirm the schedule/date.
Confirm the contents
内容を確認いたします。
Naiyou o kakunin itashimasu.
I will confirm the contents.
Is this correct?
こちらでお間違いないでしょうか。
Kochira de omachigai nai deshou ka.
Is this correct?
One moment
少々お時間をいただけますでしょうか。
Shoushou ojikan o itadakemasu deshou ka.
May I have a little time?
Explaining simply
Use short explanations before long ones.
Customer explanations should be simple and calm. If you need more time, say that you will confirm and follow up.
確認後、改めてご連絡いたします。
Kakunin-go, aratamete gorenraku itashimasu.
After confirming, I will contact you again.
This is one of the safest customer-service phrases. It avoids guessing and promises follow-up.
Complaints and problems
When trouble starts, slow down.
Customer complaints are not the time to improvise too much. Apologize, confirm, explain the next action.
Formal apology
ご迷惑をおかけして申し訳ございません。
Gomeiwaku o okake shite moushiwake gozaimasen.
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.
Thank you for pointing it out
ご指摘ありがとうございます。
Goshiteki arigatou gozaimasu.
Thank you for pointing that out.
We are checking
現在、確認しております。
Genzai, kakunin shite orimasu.
We are currently checking.
I will report this internally
社内で共有いたします。
Shanai de kyouyuu itashimasu.
I will share this internally.
We will respond
早急に対応いたします。
Sōkyū ni taiou itashimasu.
We will respond promptly.
Please wait
恐れ入りますが、少々お待ちください。
Osoreirimasu ga, shoushou omachi kudasai.
I am sorry to trouble you, but please wait a moment.
Handoff language
When you cannot answer, transfer carefully.
A good handoff tells the customer what will happen next and who will help.
Person in charge
担当者におつなぎいたします。
Tantousha ni otsunagi itashimasu.
I will connect you to the person in charge.
Manager confirmation
上司に確認いたします。
Joushi ni kakunin itashimasu.
I will confirm with my supervisor.
Call back
後ほど折り返しご連絡いたします。
Nochi hodo orikaeshi gorenraku itashimasu.
We will call/contact you back later.
Email follow-up
メールにてご連絡いたします。
Mēru nite gorenraku itashimasu.
We will contact you by email.
Customer situations
Practice by situation.
Reception
ご予約のお名前をお伺いしてもよろしいでしょうか。
Goyoyaku no onamae o oukagai shite mo yoroshii deshou ka.
May I ask the name for the reservation?
Shop
こちらの商品でよろしいでしょうか。
Kochira no shouhin de yoroshii deshou ka.
Is this product okay?
Support
状況を詳しく教えていただけますか。
Joukyou o kuwashiku oshiete itadakemasu ka.
Could you please tell me the situation in detail?
Hotel / appointment
チェックインのお手続きをいたします。
Chekku-in no otetsuzuki o itashimasu.
I will handle the check-in procedure.
Sales
こちらのプランがおすすめです。
Kochira no puran ga osusume desu.
This plan is recommended.
Unable to help immediately
すぐに対応できず、申し訳ございません。
Sugu ni taiou dekizu, moushiwake gozaimasen.
I apologize that we cannot respond immediately.
Customer philosophy
Good customer Japanese protects trust.
A customer does not need you to sound fancy. They need to feel heard, understood, and guided. That requires polite openings, accurate confirmation, simple explanation, and responsible follow-up.
For foreign workers, customer Japanese is one of the clearest signs of professional readiness. Even when your vocabulary is limited, careful confirmation can make you reliable.
Training plan
A 10-day customer Japanese plan
Days 1–3
Greeting and confirmation
- Welcome phrases
- Name and reservation confirmation
- Please wait phrases
- Confirm before answering
- Practice out loud
Days 4–7
Service and explanation
- Explain simple options
- Ask for details
- Handle “I do not know” safely
- Transfer to responsible person
- Practice listening recovery
Days 8–10
Complaints and follow-up
- Apology phrases
- Internal confirmation
- Follow-up promises
- Email handoff
- Mock customer scenario
Practice path
What to practice next
01
Email Japanese
Follow up after customer conversations with clear written Japanese.
02
Meeting Japanese
Report customer issues internally and confirm next actions.
03
Polite Japanese Game
Practice polite phrases for shops, counters, and service.
04
JLPT N2
Build the grammar and vocabulary behind customer-facing work.
Remember this
Do not guess with customers. Confirm.
Greet clearly. Listen carefully. Confirm before answering. Apologize when needed. Follow up responsibly.