Chapter 10
Basic Japanese for shochu drinkers

This chapter is designed to provide linguistic assistance to those lucky folks who will have a chance to visit Japan and enjoy shochu in its native environment. Here you will find simple Japanese expressions with their rough English equivalents and basic pronunciation patterns. Fortunately for the English speakers of the world, it is not difficult to fairly accurately replicate the pronunciation of most Japanese words simply by looking at an English representation of it. There are only five vowel sounds, and there’s a lot of overlap with those of the Spanish and Italian languages.

Pronunciation

One important difference, however, is that Japanese is a syllable-timed language, rather than a stress-timed language like English. What I mean by this is that each syllable in a Japanese word should be given equal weight and length, and individual words should not be stressed unless you’re trying to draw attention to a specific idea. As with any language, however, there are a few exceptions that you’ll need to keep in mind when using the transliterated Japanese words either in conversation or when ordering a drink. In this book I have adhered, more or less, to the rules of Revised Hepburn Romanization for Japanese.

Although vowel sounds can stand alone, syllables are normally comprised of two parts—a consonant followed by a vowel. Consonants never follow vowels, unless you include those instances when you see ‘n’ at the end of a syllable or word. That ‘n’ is actually not a consonant, it’s a nasalization of the vowel to its left and can present orally as either an [m] or [n] sound depending on the first sound of the following syllable.

Another trick to keep in mind is that consonant sounds can change in certain situations. I’m not going to get into the details here, but the gist of the matter is that unvoiced consonants occasionally become voiced. For instance, h, k, s, and t are sometimes rendered as b, g, z, and d, respectively. This can clearly be seen when comparing the words sushi and makizushi.

An especially important pronunciation foible for readers of this book to keep in mind is that, even though I have consistently written shochu as fronted by an sh consonant, it’s not always spoken that way. When the word shochu is preceded by the name of the main ingredient, it’s likely that Japanese speakers will change the sh to a j sound. In other words, imo shochu becomes imo jochu, and mugi shochu is often pronounced mugi jochu in conversation.

One final thing to pay attention to when dealing with Romanized versions of Japanese words is elongated vowels. Any time you see a macron above a vowel (usually ō or ū), you would need to extend the length of the syllable when saying it aloud. The macrons have been included here purely for academic accuracy, but it’s actually uncommon to see them used in daily life. Also, as mentioned at the beginning of this book, I have removed macrons from Japanese words that have been (or will be) borrowed as-is by English speakers. Proper nouns have also been rendered macron-less. So even though you will consistently encounter kōji and kokutō in this book, remember that they are more commonly found in the wild without macrons as koji and kokuto.

Here are the five vowel sounds found in Japanese along with their approximations in English:

Japanese vowel - English equivalent

a - ah as in father (NOT like the a in man)

e - eh as in get (NOT like the e in recede)

i - ee as in tree or we (NOT like the i in tricycle or trip)

o - oh as in zone (NOT like the o in on or won)

u - u as in glue (NOT like u in fun)

Using the English equivalents of the vowel sounds listed above, here is how some of the usual suspects from this book would look from a more pronunciation-oriented perspective. It’s not normal for the words to be transliterated in this fashion, but it might help if you’ve never heard spoken Japanese before. I’ve added spaces to break up the syllables, but remember that they should all receive equal weight or stress when spoken out loud. Check the glossary for extra practice pronouncing Japanese shochu-related words.

honkaku - /hohn kah ku/

shochu - /shōh chū/

kōrui - /kōh ru ee/

kōji - /kōh jee/

imo - /ee moh/

mugi - /mu gee/

kome - /koh meh/

awamori - /ah wah moh ree/

kokutō - /koh ku tōh/

Useful Japanese phrases

Market / Liquor shop

Almost every supermarket, convenience store, and bottle shop in Japan has at least a modest selection of shochu, so the number of expressions needed is relatively small. Supermarket and liquor store staff generally won’t approach you like employees in Japanese department, clothing, or electronics stores tend to. Instead, it’s highly likely that you’ll need to track someone down. You may find that some of the expressions from the Restaurant / Bar / Izakaya section come in handy as well.

The expressions are further organized according to linguistic themes, primarily the verbs that are used and any other patterns that might make the phrases easier to commit to memory. Each entry begins with the Japanese version and is followed by an English translation. I have included a kana representation of each expression that includes spaces corresponding to the Romanized rendering that follows.

すみません。 (Sumimasen.)

Excuse me (see Note 1 in the next section)

本格焼酎はどこですか。 (ほんかく しょうちゅう は どこ です か。 / Honkaku shochu wa doko desu ka?)

Where is the honkaku shochu?

どれは本格焼酎ですか。 (どれ は ほんかく しょうちゅう です か。 / Dore wa honkaku shochu desu ka?)

Which one(s) is/are honkaku shochu?

Restaurant / Bar / Izakaya

Here are some general expressions that you can use to navigate a dining/bar experience in Japanese. Underlined words can be substituted with the words that follow.

A hole-in-the-wall shochu bar in Kagoshima city.

何名様ですか。 (なん めい さま です か。/ Nan mei sama desu ka?)

How many people in your party?

一人です。 (ひとり です。/ Hitori desu.)—A table for one, please.

二人 (ふたり / futari) 三人 (さん にん / san nin)—two-three

四人 (よ にん / yo nin) 五人 (ご にん / go nin)—four-five

六人 (ろく にん / roku nin) 七人 (なな にん / nana nin)—six-seven

八人 (はち にん / hachi nin) 九人 (きゅう にん / kyū nin)—eight-nine

十人 (じゅう にん / jū nin)—ten

禁煙席お願いします。 (きんえん せき おねがい します。/ Kin’en seki onegai shimasu.)

Non-smoking seat, please.

メニュー (めにゅー / Me’nyū)

Menu

飲み物メニュー (のみもの めにゅー / Nomimono me’nyū)

Drink menu

お会計 (おかいけい / Okaikei)

Check

Note 1: ...onegai shimasu is one of the magic Japanese phrases that you absolutely must memorize. You can put almost any noun phrase in front of it, including destinations when taking a cab, and the result is a polite request. Alternatively, “Onegai shimasu” can be substituted for “Sumimasen” from the Market / Liquor Shop section as a way to get someone’s attention. It takes a little getting used to, but don’t be afraid to call these expressions out if the place is hopping or for whatever reason there’s no server in sight.

Note 2: Also, rather than a table charge, many izakaya and bars will give each person in your party a small dish of food shortly after sitting down. This is called otōshi (お通し / おとおし), and you should expect to see a charge for it on the bill.

ありがとうございます。 (Arigatō gozaimasu.)

Thank you.

Note 3: Memorize this one, too. If you want to sound even more polite, add the word dōmo (どうも) to the beginning.

はい。 / いいえ。 (Hai. / Īe.)

Yes. / No.

お冷やください。 (おひや ください。/ Ohiya kudasai.)

Please give me cold drinking water.

焼酎 (しょうちゅう / shochu)—shochu

お湯 (おゆ / oyu)—hot water

お水 (おみず / omizu)—water (cold)

氷 (こおり / kōri)—ice

お箸 (おはし / ohashi)—chopsticks

スプーン (すぷーん / supūn)—spoon

フォーク (ふぉーく / fōku)—fork

取り皿 (とりざら / torizara)—small plate/dish

おしぼり (oshibori)—wet towel

これ (kore)—this one

それ (sore)—that (near)

あれ (are)—that (far)

Note 4: Menus in Japan often have pictures to aid selection, so pointing while saying kore kudasai can get you a long way. Also, don’t be shocked if the wait staff or bartender points to something on the menu with their middle finger. They are simply using the longest finger on the human hand, and it’s not meant to be offensive. It’s actually a logical finger choice for indicating when you think about it.

芋焼酎をロックで一つください。 (いも しょうちゅう を ろっく で ひとつ ください。 / Imo shochu o rokku de hitotsu kudasai.)

Please give me one potato shochu on the rocks.

Counters for drinks and food

一つ (ひとつ / hitotsu) 二つ (ふたつ / futatsu)—one-two

三つ (みっつ / mittsu) 四つ (よっつ / yottsu)—three-four

五つ (いつつ / itsutsu) 六つ (むっつ / muttsu)—five-six

七つ (ななつ / nanatsu) 八つ (やっつ / yattsu)—seven-eight

Note 5: Replace the word rokku with your preferred serving style: neat (sutorēto), cool water mix (mizuwari), warm water mix (nurukan), or hot water mix (oyuwari). Also, a doubled ‘k’ or ‘t’—as in the words rokku and mittsu above—implies an elongated consonant when saying the word. In practice, this equates to inserting a brief glottal stop before the doubled consonant.

とりあえず生。 (とりあえず なま。 / Toriaezu nama.)

Let’s start with a draft beer.

乾杯！ (かんぱい！ / Kanpai!)

Cheers!

これは何ですか。 (これ は なん です か。 / Kore wa nan desu ka?)

What is this?

牛肉は食べられません。 (ぎゅうにく は たべられません。 / Gyūniku wa taberaremasen.)

I cannot eat beef.

豚肉 (ぶた にく / buta niku)—pork

卵 (たまご / tamago)—egg

貝類 (かいるい / kairui)—shellfish

刺身 (さしみ / sashimi)—sashimi (raw fish)

ベジタリアンです。 (べじたりあん です。 / Bejitarian desu.)

I’m (she’s/he’s) a vegetarian.

牛乳は飲めません。 (ぎゅうにゅう は のめません。 / Gyūnyū wa nomemasen.)

I cannot drink milk.

ウィスキー (うぃすきー / uisukī)—whiskey

ビール (びーる / bīru)—beer

日本酒 (にほんしゅ / nihonshu)—nihonshu (saké)

もう (mō)—anymore (drop the ‘wa’ after ‘mō’)

本格焼酎を飲みたいです。 (ほんかく しょうちゅう を のみたい です。 / Honkaku shochu o nomitai desu.)

I want to drink honkaku shochu.

芋 (いも / imo)—potato

麦 (むぎ / mugi)—barley

米 (こめ / kome)—rice

黒糖 (こくとう / kokutō)—brown sugar

泡盛 (あわもり / awamori)—awamori (drop the word shochu)

白麹 (しろこうじ / shiro kōji)—white kōji (plus ingredient)

黒麹 (くろこうじ / kuro kōji)—black kōji (plus ingredient)

黄麹 (きこうじ / ki kōji)—yellow kōji (plus ingredient)

おすすめは何ですか。 (おすすめ は なん です か。 / Osusume wa nan desu ka?)

What do you recommend?

いくらですか。 / (Ikura desu ka?)—How much does it cost?

どれですか。 / (Dore desu ka?)—Which one?

お手洗いはどこですか。 (おてあらい は どこ です か。 / Otearai wa doko desu ka?)

Where is the restroom/toilet?

おいしいです！ (Oishī desu!)

It’s delicious!

大丈夫です。 (だいじょうぶ です。 / Daijōbu desu.)

It’s/I’m OK.

Note 6: This is another essential expression. Daijōbu is like the duct tape of the Japanese language—it can be used in a zillion different situations. For example, the above expression can be teamed with appropriate nodding or shaking of the head to mean either yes or no. Add the question particle -ka to the end, and you have yourself a very handy question stem.

クレジットカード大丈夫ですか。 (くれじっと かーど だいじょうぶ です か。 / Kurejitto kādo daijōbu desu ka?)

Is a credit card OK?

写真 (しゃしん / shashin)—photo

靴 (くつ / kutsu)—shoes

Note 7: Some izakaya require you to remove your shoes just after coming through the door. A pretty good indication is when there’s a standing area just inside the entry, but it’s one or two steps down from the floor level of the rest of the place. Another dead giveaway is when you can see a wall of mini lockers with odd wooden or metal ‘keys.’ When in doubt, just use the above phrase, “Kutsu daijōbu desu ka?”

焼酎はありますか。 (しょうちゅう は あります か。 / Shochu wa arimasu ka?)

Do you have shochu?

飲み放題 (のみほうだい / nomihōdai)—“all you can drink” deal

食べ放題 (たべほうだい / tabehōdai)—“all you can eat” deal

Note 8: Some bars and izakaya have timed, limited menu deals where you can drink and/or eat as much as you want for a set price. Don’t be surprised if they tell you that it’s “last order” when you still have 30 minutes left on the clock. If you want to have another drink after “last order” on the nomihōdai menu, then you’ll need to order it tan’pin which means that you’ll pay the regular menu price for it. The same is true for karaoke room nomihōdai deals.