Latest / Learn Japanese with Fexingo / Asking for the Bill in Japanese
Transcript
- Lucas: Welcome back to Learn Japanese with Fexingo. I'm Lucas. Luna: And I'm Luna. Episode 69, woohoo! Lucas: Today we're tackling something you'll use every time you eat out in Japan. Luna: Ooh, I hope it's about dessert. Lucas: Close — it's about asking for the bill. After you finish your meal, you need to let the staff know you're ready to pay. Luna: Right, because they don't just drop the check on your table like in some countries. Lucas: Exactly. So the key phrase is: お会計お願いします. Luna: Okay, let me try. お会計お願いします. Lucas: Perfect. お会計 means 'the bill' or 'check'. お願いします is 'please', so literally 'bill, please'. Luna: That's easy to remember. So after eating ramen, I'd say お会計お願いします. Lucas: Yes! And if you need to get someone's attention first, you can say すみません — 'excuse me'. Luna: すみません. Got that from earlier episodes. Lucas: Great. So a full sequence: すみません、お会計お願いします. Luna: すみません、お会計お願いします. That flows nicely. Lucas: Now, another important phrase is said when you're done eating. It's a way to thank the chef and staff. Luna: Oh, like saying grace after the meal? Lucas: Kind of. It's ごちそうさまでした. Luna: ごちそうさまでした. That's a mouthful. Lucas: Let's break it down: ごちそう means 'feast', and さまでした is a polite form of 'was'. So it's like 'that was a feast'. You say it to show appreciation. Luna: ごちそうさまでした. I think I can get that. Lucas: And you can also ask how much it is by saying いくらですか. Luna: いくらですか — how much? Lucas: Right. But usually the bill shows the total, so お会計お願いします is enough. Luna: Makes sense. Let's practice a mini scene. I'm at a ramen shop, finished my bowl. What do I say? Lucas: First, catch the waiter's eye and say すみません. Then お会計お願いします. When you leave, say ごちそうさまでした. Luna: すみません、お会計お願いします. And then ごちそうさまでした. Got it. Lucas: Perfect. Now let's all say them together. Repeat after me: すみません、お会計お願いします. Luna: すみません、お会計お願いします. Lucas: ごちそうさまでした. Luna: ごちそうさまでした. Lucas: You know, it's thanks to listeners like you that we can keep making these episodes. Luna: Yeah, some amazing folks support us on Buy Me a Coffee. Lucas: If Fexingo has been helping you make progress, consider joining them at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: It really helps keep the show ad-free and going strong. Lucas: Now, back to practice. Let's imagine you're at a restaurant. The waiter comes over. You say... Luna: すみません、お会計お願いします. Lucas: Exactly. Then after paying, you stand up and say to the staff... Luna: ごちそうさまでした. Lucas: Perfect. One more time: お会計お願いします. Luna: お会計お願いします. Lucas: ごちそうさまでした. Luna: ごちそうさまでした. Lucas: Great work today. Practice these phrases before your next meal out. Luna: Yeah, I'm going to use them tonight. Thanks Lucas! Lucas: See you next time on Learn Japanese with Fexingo. Luna: Bye bye!