Learn Japanese rapidly! When visiting Japan, you might have some difficulty getting around. The sights and sounds of the city may be confusing and not at all what you’re used to. That’s why being able to ask questions such as, “Where is the nearest hospital?” and “What is the restaurant’s address?” is indispensable. It’s also very important that you can ask people for their phone numbers in a polite and direct way. This Newbie Japanese article is here to help you master the Japanese questions that will get you around the city. Use juusho (“address”) and denwa bangoo (“phone number”) to ask for important information in Japanese. You’ll also discover how to ask for directions to a number of locations, from the hospital to Starbucks Coffee. In addition to plenty of examples and practice sentences, you’ll also find a chart of Japanese words to the places you’ll want to find.

Vocabulary: In this article, you’ll learn the following words and phrases:

kaze – “cold” (illness)

tabun – “perhaps, probably”

samui – “cold” (-i ending adjective)

chikaku – “near”

byooin – “hospital”

annai – “information, guidance”

juusho – “address”

denwa bangoo – “telephone number”

Akasaka – “Akasaka” (town in Tokyo)

Mori – “forest” (common Japanese family name)

Grammar: In this article, you’ll learn the following words and phrases:

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How to Ask for an Address

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1. (Byooin no) juusho wa nan desu ka.
2. (Byooin no) juusho wa doko desu ka.
3. (Byooin no) juusho (o) onegaishimasu.

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How to Ask for a Phone Number

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1. (Byooin no) denwa bangoo wa nan desu ka.
2. (Byooin no) denwa bangoo wa nan-ban desu ka.
3. (Byooin no) denwa bangoo ( o ) onegaishimasu.

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Example

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1. Daigaku no juusho wa nan desu ka.“What’s the address of the university?”

2. Tookyoo-eki no denwa bangoo wa nanban desu ka.“What’s the telephone number for Tokyo station?”

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Chikakku ni byooin, arimasu ka.

“Is there a hospital near here?”

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Review the following vocabulary:

chikaku – “nearby“

ni – “particle indicating place“

byooin – “hospital“

arimasu – “exist”

ka – “question-marking particle”

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Sentence Pattern

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Chikaku ni [ site you are looking for ] arimasu ka.

“Is there (___) near here?”

Chikaku ni / site you are looking for / arimasu ka.

Chikaku ni / byooin ( “hospital” ) / arimasu ka.

Chikaku ni / daigaku ( “university” ) / arimasu ka.

Chikaku ni / eki / arimasu ka.

Chikaku ni / kuukoo (“airport”) / arimasu ka.

Chikaku ni / resutoran (“restaurant”) / arimasu ka.

Chikaku ni / depaato (“department store”) / arimasu ka.

Chikaku ni / toire (“toire”) / arimasu ka.

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Example

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1. A: Sumimasen. Chikaku ni toire, arimasu ka.“Excuse me. Are there restrooms near here?”
2. B: Toire? Asoko desu.“Restrooms? They are over there.”
3. A: Arigatoo gozaimashita.“Thank you very much.”

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Practice

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What would you say in the following situations? Try to use the expression introduced in this lesson.

1. You want to know someone’s home phone number. (uchi or ie means, “home”)Anatano uchi no _______________________________________
2. You want to know if there’s a Starbucks coffee nearby. (staabakkusu, sutaba means, “Starbucks Coffee”)Chikaku ni ___________________________________________
3. You want to know a restaurant’s address.Resutoran no ____________________________________________