Latest / Learn Japanese with Fexingo / Asking Prices in Japanese
Transcript
- Lucas: Luna, welcome back. You know, we've covered a lot of useful phrases, but there's one thing you'll definitely need when shopping in Japan. Luna: Oh, I have a feeling I know what that is. Is it asking for prices? Because I've been wondering how to say 'how much is this?' Lucas: Exactly. And before we dive in, I want to mention something. If Fexingo has been helping you with Japanese, you might want to support the show. We keep it ad-free on purpose, and listener support makes that possible. You can find the link at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Just a small way to help us keep going. Luna: Yeah, it's nice to have a resource without interruptions. Okay, back to prices. So, how do I ask? Lucas: The key phrase is いくらですか. It means 'how much is it?' Let's break it down. いくら means 'how much', and ですか makes it a polite question. Say it with me: いくらですか. Luna: いくらですか. いくらですか. That flows nicely. Lucas: Perfect. Now if you want to ask about a specific item, you say これはいくらですか. これ means 'this', so 'how much is this?' Luna: これはいくらですか. Got it. So I can point and say that. Lucas: Exactly. Now let's practice some answers. Remember the numbers you know? Let's say something costs 100 yen. In Japanese, 100 is 百, but for prices we often just say 百円. So 100円です means 'it's 100 yen.' Luna: 100円です. Short and sweet. Lucas: Right. How about 300 yen? 300 is 三百, so 300円です. Luna: 300円です. Okay, and 500 would be 500円です. Lucas: Yes! 500 is 五百, so 500円です. You're catching on. Let's put it in a mini conversation. Imagine you're at a market. You see a cute keychain and ask: これはいくらですか. The seller says: 300円です. Luna: So I'd say: これはいくらですか. And they'd say: 300円です. That's simple. I love how practical this is. Lucas: It really is. Let's do one more. What if the price is 500 yen? Same pattern: これはいくらですか. Answer: 500円です. Luna: これはいくらですか. 500円です. I think I've got it. Can I try asking you? これはいくらですか? Lucas: Hmm, that'll be 100円です. Good job, Luna. Now you can shop with confidence. Luna: Awesome. I'll practice saying いくらですか until our next episode. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: You're welcome. Keep practicing, and we'll see you next time.