Real phrases · Real workplaces
Real-World Japanese.
Stop sounding rude at work. Our A/B/C politeness framework shows you the three versions of every phrase — and exactly when to use each one.
Free · “Saying No” in 5 work situations
Featured
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How to Apologize to Your Boss in Japanese: 8 Scenarios with Email Templates
Stop over-formalizing apologies to your own manager. 8 boss scenarios, the hou-ren-sou report-recovery flow, channel-by-channel wording, and 3 paste-ready email templates.
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How to Refuse Politely in Japanese: 8 Scenarios + the Soft No Decoder
Stop guessing how to decline without causing offense. 8 workplace scenarios × A/B/C politeness, copy-paste decline emails, and how to read a soft Japanese no.
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Japanese Phone Call Phrases: Scripts for 6 Scenes from Moshi Moshi to Hang-Up
Japanese phone call phrases at A/B/C politeness levels — answering, transfers, holds, messages, and callbacks — plus two worked dialogues and a printable script.
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Japanese Workplace Mistakes Foreigners Make: From Day 1 to Year 3
The mistakes you make because you're a foreigner — the gaijin-pass myth, over-assimilation, and the career-trajectory blind spots that bite at one to three years, not just on day one.
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Business Japanese: A Complete Map of the 6 Areas (+ 90-Day Roadmap)
A map of business Japanese for foreign professionals — the 6 areas to master, a 30-second self-check, the 80/20 starter phrases, and a 90-day learning roadmap that routes you to the right deep dive.
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Japanese Business Etiquette: 9 Rituals and the Exact Words for Each
The 9 rituals of Japanese business etiquette — bowing, business cards, meetings, dining, and more — each ranked by what's at stake, with the exact phrase to say.
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Working in Japan as a Foreigner: Culture, Language, and Your First 90 Days
What working in Japan as a foreigner is really like in 2026 — the visa and language basics, the work culture that trips people up, and a Day-1 phrase kit to earn goodwill fast.
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Common Japanese Business Mistakes: What to Avoid in Your First 90 Days
A tiered, severity-ranked guide to the language, etiquette, and culture mistakes foreign hires make in their first three months at Japanese companies — with one-line recovery scripts for each.
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How to Say Sorry in Japanese Politely: 8 Scenarios with Email Templates
Stop guessing between gomen and mōshiwake gozaimasen. 8 apology scenarios × 3 politeness tiers, a 5-axis severity score, and 4 paste-ready email templates.
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Japanese Email Phrases: 50 Essentials in 8 Function Categories
A function-indexed phrase dictionary for Japanese business email — 50 frequency-ranked essentials across 8 categories (opening, self-intro, topic, request, apology, acknowledgment, closing, attachment) tagged A/B/C and internal/external. Includes a 5-level acknowledgment comparison, an email vs Slack vs phone translation table, and 6 phrase-level mistakes to retire.
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Japanese Honorifics Chart: -san, -sama, -kun, -chan, and Beyond
A scannable Japanese honorifics chart — 12 suffixes at a glance, plus confusion-pair tables, a workplace decision matrix, anime-vs-real-life ratings, and the five mistakes non-natives make most often.
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Japanese Meeting Phrases: 50 Examples from Opening to Follow-Up
50 Japanese meeting phrases at A/B/C politeness levels — pre-meeting prep, opening, discussion, decision, closing, follow-up, plus Zoom and Teams expressions.
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Sonkeigo vs Kenjougo: The Difference and When to Use Each
The difference between sonkeigo and kenjougo, made simple: a 3-step decision flow, 10 verbs side by side, and the uchi-soto trap that fools most learners.
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Best Way to Learn Keigo: A 90-Day, 3-Stage Roadmap
A 30-second self-diagnostic, a 90-day stage-by-stage plan, and a 6-method comparison for non-natives who know what keigo is but freeze when they need it at work.
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How to Write a Japanese Business Email: 8 Steps from Subject to Signature
A step-by-step process for writing a Japanese business email from scratch — subject, TO/CC/BCC, addressee, greeting, body, and signature — with the A/B/C politeness rule for every step plus a pre-send checklist.
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10 Polite Japanese Phrases for the Office — Master Them in Your First Week
10 polite Japanese phrases for the office — master them in your first week. Each labelled A/B/C, with a who-says-this-to-whom matrix and 3 mistakes to avoid.
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8 Keigo Mistakes Non-Natives Make — and Which to Fix First
Not all keigo mistakes are equal. We rank the 8 errors non-natives make most by severity (Tier 1–3), pair each with what to say instead, and show which mistakes are fatal with clients vs. forgivable with peers.
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Japanese Business Phrases PDF: 30 Scenarios at 3 Politeness Levels
Workplace Japanese phrases for foreign professionals: 10 scenarios across 3 politeness levels, top 30 by frequency, and Cmd+P save tips. Free, ungated.
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Keigo Examples: Verb Table, 30+ Workplace Phrases, and 5 Dialogues
Keigo examples for non-natives at Japanese workplaces: a high-frequency verb table (plain → teineigo → sonkeigo → kenjougo), 30+ A/B/C scene phrases, 5 full dialogues (interview, email, phone, meeting, Slack), and mistakes paired with the fix.
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Japanese Business Email Templates: 8 Scenarios for Internal and Client-Facing Use
Eight copy-paste Japanese business email templates — apology, meeting request, follow-up, first contact, and more — tagged for internal vs. client-facing use. Ship today's email without offending anyone.
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Japanese Business Self-Introduction: 8 Templates for Chorei, Client Visits, and Interviews
Eight copy-paste Japanese business self-introduction templates — first-day chorei, internal team intro, client meeting, interview, and Zoom — tagged for internal vs. client-facing use, with time-budgeted scripts and the meishi-exchange lines no one teaches.
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Keigo Cheat Sheet: 30 Verbs + 20 Phrases + 10 Office Scenarios
Stop guessing which keigo form to use. 30 verbs, 20 set phrases, 10 office scenarios in A/B/C columns — the daily companion to our keigo guide.
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Welcome to Real-World Japanese
Real phrases for real Japanese workplaces — start here.
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Keigo Guide: The A/B/C Framework for Workplace Japanese
Stop guessing which politeness level to use at work. Learn keigo through a simple A/B/C framework, with 10 office scenarios, a verb cheat sheet, and the 4 mistakes non-natives make most.
Recent Posts
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Japanese for IT Professionals & Software Engineers: A Working Guide
Updated:Practical Japanese for software engineers in Japan — phrases for standups, PR reviews, commit messages, sprint planning, demos, retros, and client calls, plus a week-1 survival deck and a JLPT-to-task ladder. Two-thirds of what vocab lists never tell you.
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Japanese Business Phrases: What to Learn First, by Use Case
Stuck on where to start with Japanese business phrases? A use-case map: the 20 to learn first, plus the right phrase for greetings, email, meetings, and more.