Guide To Written Japanese

When considering a trip to Japan the Japanese writing system can seem daunting, however if a person knows just a couple of characters of Japanese Kanji it can make life much much easier.  First I would recommend going over the symbols for your gender.  While some areas of Japan, especially those that cater to foreign tourists might have a picture of a man or a woman (or in some instances English signage) it is best to know in advance so that when it comes time to use the restroom you are not left with a confusing and possibly high stakes game of heads or tails. 

女

female

男

male

Another important time to be able to read is when it comes to finding something to drink.  If for some reason you either want a drink but do not want to pay the high prices of a restaurant or bar the following symbol is generally found outside of a store that sells alcohol.  Also if all else fails and communications totally break down in a restaurant or bar show them the symbol by going to this site from your smart phone in the bar.

酒

Alcohol

Here is an example of this outside of a store

Now that you finally have your drink and enjoyed your meal its time to pay the bill.  The only problem with that is that sometimes the prices on the menus are in Kanji and so can be impossible to read if you don't know any Chinese or Japanese.  Below is a list of numbers 0 - 9.  In the menus I have seen that used Kanji they used 0 for zero instead of the Chinese character but I will add it just in case. 

一

One

二

Two

三

Three

四

Four

五

Five

六

Six

七

Seven

八

Eight

九

Nine

零

Zero

The other thing is that for numbers under 1000 they add place the numbers 0 - 9  next to each other to equal the number below is an example of what I mean.

五

五

二

Five Hundred Fifty-Two

If the number is horizontal it is important to verify how much things are because if it is a two digit number it can be read left to right but if it is three digit it can at times be read right to left.  In the end all the numbers in this guide should be used as an aid for communication so that if you see something like the above symbols on a menus instead of the numbers you are used to, you can get an idea of how much the meal might be but in the end since you will be paying for the food you order it is a good idea to verify that your idea of the price is right before you order.  This can be done by writing the number you think it is on a napkin, or using your fingers as I did at one restaurant, or even getting out your phone and dialing the number you think it is so they can see what you are talking about.  In other words make sure you know exactly what to expect before ordering so there are no surprises come bill time.  If you have any other issues with paying for things in Japan see the post I did earlier on Money In Japan