Typing in Japanese is not the same as typing in English. If you are unsure how to type in Japanese, please cut & paste these phrases from the page into Meet-me, when you wish to use them.

To type in Japanese, make sure the language bar is set to Japanese mode and type as if you were typing in romaji (and use the minus key for the elongation mark in katakana). The words will initally display in hiragana. To convert them to kanji, press the Space Bar after each word to bring up a menu of kanji that can be pronunced from what has been typed. Use the up and down arrows to choose the correct kanji, and press the Return key.

There are no spaces in Japanese, so it is not necessary to add any. Pressing the Return key while any word is highlighted, will simply tell the computer you want to use that word in its present for (hiragana, katakana or kanji). If no words are highlighted, then the Return key has the same function as if you were typing in English.


Useful Phrases

Each phrase will be shown in its Japanese version (with kanji), the romaji version (for typing in Japanese - each romaji word will be separated with spaces) and the English meaning of each phrase.
In the romaji column, words in brackets are optional but add a level of politeness if used.
The minus signs indicate elongation of the previous vowel which are entered by typing the minus sign.
The tilde (~) indicates a word or phrase needs to come before or after this.
ie. My name is ~ (means the tilde represents your name)
~shusshin desu (your country comes before the tilde)
Double consonants indicate a glottal stop and in Japanese are represented by a small つ or ツ

*Tip* 'watashi' (私) means 'I' or 'me' and can be used by anyone

'boku' (僕) means the same but normally used by men
'ore' (俺) means the same but more rough and informal

You will see Japanese people using all three, but 'watashi' is the safest one to use until you are confident in speaking Japanese

English	Romaji	Japanese
Nice to meet you	hajimemashite	はじめまして
Regards (often said at the start or end of a conversation as a matter of politeness)	yoroshiku (onegaishimasu)	よろしく （おねがいします）
Good morning	ohayou (gozaimasu)	おはよう （ございます）
Good afternoon	konnichiha	こんにちは
Good evening	konbanha	こんばんは
Goodbye	sayonara	さよなら
Goodnight	oyasumi (nasai)	おやすみ （なさい）
My name is ~	watshi no namae ha ~	私の名前は~
I am from ~	~ shusshin desu	~出身です
America	amerika	アメリカ
Australia	o-sutoraria	オーストラリア
Britain	igirisu	イギリス
Ireland / Eire	airurando	アイルランド
Can you speak English?	eigo ga dekimasu ka	英語ができますか
I don't understand Japanese.	nihongo ga wakarimasen	日本語がわかりません
Yes	hai	はい
Yes / It is / That's right	sou desu	そうです
No	iie	いいえ
No, that's not right (used more often than in English, especially in response to things like "are you Welsh?")	chigaimasu	違います