Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Basic Japanese Ordering at Fast-Food Restaurants

For Americans traveling to or visiting Japan, theyre likely to have no trouble finding familiar restaurants. In addition to fine dining, there are many fast food restaurants in Japan, including Burger King,  McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken. In order to make the restaurants feel as authentic and true-to-the-original as possible, fast food workers in Japan tend to use words and phrases which are very close to what one might expect from their American counterparts. Its not quite English, but its likely to be familiar to the ear of an American (or other English-speaking) visitor. Most western dishes or beverages use English names, though the pronunciation is changed to sound more Japanese. They are all written in katakana. For instance, the staple of most American fast food restaurants, French fries, are referred to as poteto (potato) or furaido poteto in the Japanese locations.   Here are a few basic greetings and phrase you can expect to hear when visiting an American fast food restaurant in Japan, with their approximate translations and phonetic pronunciations. Irasshaimase.㠁„ら㠁 £Ã£ â€"ã‚Æ'㠁„㠁 ¾Ã£ â€ºÃ£â‚¬â€šÃ‚  Ã‚     Welcome!A greeting given by store or  restaurant employees, which you may hear elsewhere. Go-chuumon wa.㠁”æ ³ ¨Ã¦â€"‡ã  ¯Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ‚  Ã‚     What would you like to order?Following the initial greeting, this is when youll reply with what you want. Be sure youve studied the menu items a bit before this question, because the names may be different than the ones youre used to ordering in the U.S. And there are some menu items in McDonalds restaurants in Japan that Americans have never seen on the menu or varieties of foods (such as all-you-can-eat Whoppers at Burger King) that may be very different than the ones back home. O-nomimono wa ikaga desu ka.㠁Šé £ ²Ã£  ¿Ã§â€° ©Ã£  ¯Ã£ â€žÃ£ â€¹Ã£ Å'㠁 §Ã£ â„¢Ã£ â€¹Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ‚  Ã‚     Would you like anything to drink? In addition to the usual sodas and milk available at fast-food restaurants in the U.S., in Japan, the menus include vegetable drinks and at some locations, beer.   Kochira de meshiagarimasu ka, omochikaeri desu ka.㠁“㠁 ¡Ã£â€šâ€°Ã£  §Ã¥  ¬Ã£ â€"ä ¸Å Ã£ Å'り㠁 ¾Ã£ â„¢Ã£ â€¹Ã£â‚¬ Ã£ Å Ã¦Å' Ã£  ¡Ã¥ ¸ °Ã£â€šÅ Ã£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£ â€¹Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ‚  Ã‚     Will you eat here, or take it out? The familiar phrase for here or to go? doesnt quite translate precisely from English to Japanese.  Meshiagaru is a respectful form of the verb taberu (to eat). The prefix o is added verb mochikaeru (to take out). Waiters, waitresses or cashiers in restaurants and store clerks always use polite expressions to the customers. Placing Your Order But before the person at the counter takes your order, youll want to have a few keywords and phrases ready so you get what you want. Again, the terms are very close approximations to their English counterparts, so if you dont get it totally right, chances are youll get what you order. hanbaagaaãÆ' Ã£Æ' ³Ã£Æ' Ã£Æ' ¼Ã£â€š ¬Ã£Æ' ¼Ã‚  Ã‚     hamburgerkooraã‚ ³Ã£Æ' ¼Ã£Æ' ©Ã‚  Ã‚     cokejuusuã‚ ¸Ã£Æ' ¥Ã£Æ' ¼Ã£â€š ¹Ã‚  Ã‚     juicehotto dogguãÆ'݋Æ'Æ'ãÆ'ˆãÆ'‰ãÆ'Æ'ã‚ °Ã‚  Ã‚     hot dogpizaãÆ'”ã‚ ¶Ã‚  Ã‚     pizzasupagetiiã‚ ¹Ã£Æ'‘ã‚ ²Ã£Æ'†ã‚ £Ã‚  Ã‚     spaghetti  saradaã‚ µÃ£Æ' ©Ã£Æ'€Â  Ã‚     saladdezaatoãÆ'‡ã‚ ¶Ã£Æ' ¼Ã£Æ'ˆÂ  Ã‚     dessert If youre determined to experience American fast food through a Japanese lens, youll have many options just by learning a few key phrases. Whether its a Big Mac or a Whopper youre craving, chances are good you can find it in the Land of the Rising Sun.

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