Japanese Vocabulary Shopping and Prices

Japanese department stores tend to be  much bigger than their North American counterparts. Many of them have several floors, and shoppers can buy a wide variety of things there.  Department stores used to be called hyakkaten (ç™ ¾Ã¨ ² ¨Ã¥ ºâ€", but the term depaato ãÆ'‡ãÆ'‘ãÆ' ¼Ã£Æ'ˆ is more common today.   Before you begin your shopping spree, be sure to familiarize yourself with the customs of Japanese shopping so you know what to expect. For instance, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization, there are very few circumstances where bargaining or haggling over a price is expected or even encouraged. Get to know when off-season prices are in effect so youre not paying top dollar (or yen) for something that may be on sale next week. And when you want to try on an item of clothing, its customary to seek help from a store clerk before entering the dressing room.   In Japan, department store clerks use very polite expressions when dealing with customers. Here are some expressions you are likely to hear in a Japanese department store. Irasshaimase. Welcome. Nanika osagashi desu ka. May I help you?(Literally means, Are you looking for something?) Ikaga desu ka. How do you like it? Kashikomarimashita. Certainly. Omatase itashimashita. Sorry to have kept you waiting. Irasshaimase(㠁„ら㠁 £Ã£ â€"ã‚Æ'㠁„㠁 ¾Ã£ â€º) is a greeting to customers in stores or restaurants. It literally means welcome. You, as the customer, are not expected to answer this greeting. Kore㠁“ã‚Å' means this.  Sore㠁 Ã£â€šÅ'  means that. English has only this and that, but  Japanese has three separate indicators. Are㠁‚ã‚Å' means that over there.   kore something near the speaker sore something near the person spoken to are something not near either person To reply to a what question, simply substitute the answer for nan(ä ½â€¢). Just remember to change kore㠁“ã‚Å', sore㠁 Ã£â€šÅ' or are㠁‚ã‚Å' depending on where the object is in relation to you. Dont forget to take the ka㠁‹ (question marker) off. Q. Kore wa nan desu ka. (㠁“ã‚Å'㠁 ¯Ã¤ ½â€¢Ã£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£ â€¹Ã£â‚¬â€š)  A. Sore wa obi desu. (㠁 Ã£â€šÅ'㠁 ¯Ã¥ ¸ ¯Ã£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£â‚¬â€š) Ikura㠁„㠁 Ã£â€šâ€° means how much. Useful Expressions for Shopping Kore wa ikura desu ka. How much is this? Mite mo ii desu ka. Can I look at it? ~ wa doko ni arimasu ka. Where is ~? ~ (ga) arimasu ka. () Do you have ~? ~ o misete kudasai. Please show me ~. Kore ni shimasu. Ill take it. Miteiru dake desu. Im just looking. Japanese Numbers   Its also very useful to know Japanese numbers when shopping in a department store or anywhere else for that matter. Tourists in Japan should also take care to know what the current exchange rates are, in order to have a clear picture of how much things cost in dollars (or whatever your home currency is).   100 hyaku 1000 sen 200 nihyaku 2000 nisen 300 sanbyaku 3000 sanzen 400 yonhyaku 4000 yonsen 500 gohyaku 5000 gosen 600 roppyaku 6000 rokusen 700 nanahyaku 7000 nanasen 800 happyaku 8000 hassen 900 kyuuhyaku 9000 kyuusen Kudasai㠁 Ã£   Ã£ â€¢Ã£ â€ž means please give me. This follows the  particle  o (object marker).   Conversation in the Store Heres a sample conversation that might take place between a Japanese store clerk and a customer (in this case, named Paul). Ã¥ ºâ€"å“ ¡:  Ã‚     Ã£ â€žÃ£â€šâ€°Ã£  £Ã£ â€"ã‚Æ'㠁„㠁 ¾Ã£ â€ºÃ£â‚¬â€šStore Clerk: May I help you?ãÆ' Ã£Æ' ¼Ã£Æ' «:  Ã‚     Ã£ â€œÃ£â€šÅ'㠁 ¯Ã¤ ½â€¢Ã£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£ â€¹Ã£â‚¬â€šPaul: What is this?Ã¥ ºâ€"å“ ¡:  Ã‚     Ã£  Ã£â€šÅ'㠁 ¯Ã¥ ¸ ¯Ã£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£â‚¬â€šStore Clerk: That is an obiãÆ' Ã£Æ' ¼Ã£Æ' «:  Ã‚     Ã£ â€žÃ£  Ã£â€šâ€°Ã£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£ â€¹Ã£â‚¬â€šPaul: How much is it?  Ã¥ ºâ€"å“ ¡:  Ã‚     Ã¤ ºâ€Ã¥ Æ'円㠁 §Ã£ â„¢Ã£â‚¬â€šStore Clerk: It is 5000 yen.ãÆ' Ã£Æ' ¼Ã£Æ' «:  Ã‚     Ã£  Ã£â€šÅ'㠁 ¯Ã£ â€žÃ£  Ã£â€šâ€°Ã£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£ â€¹Ã£â‚¬â€šPaul: How much is that one?Ã¥ ºâ€"å“ ¡:  Ã‚     Ã¤ ºÅ'Ã¥ Æ'ä ºâ€Ã§â„¢ ¾Ã¥â€ â€ Ã£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£â‚¬â€šStore Clerk: It is 2500 yen.ãÆ' Ã£Æ' ¼Ã£Æ' «:  Ã‚     Ã£ ËœÃ£â€šÆ'〠Ã£  Ã£â€šÅ'を㠁 Ã£   Ã£ â€¢Ã£ â€žÃ£â‚¬â€šÃ‚  Paul: Well then, please give me that one.