About this lesson and its scene
Learn how to ask for slower speech in Japanese, request one repetition or name the missing part, and confirm one recovered word, number, or place.
“Please speak slowly” in Japanese is ゆっくり話してください (yukkuri hanashite kudasai). When someone is already speaking, すみません。もう少しゆっくり話してください is a clear polite repair: “Excuse me. Please speak a little more slowly.” Here, a repair is one short move that fixes a listening problem without restarting the whole exchange.
Choose the request by what went wrong. Ask for slower speech when the speed is the problem, もう一度お願いします when one part needs repeating, or say よく分かりません and point to the gap when repetition alone will not help. Then repeat the word, number, or place you recovered to check it before you act.
This page’s Play and Slow controls use your browser or device voice, not a human-reviewed recording. Voice availability and pronunciation vary. Use the written exchange to choose a repair; use reliable Japanese audio or a real conversation to check what you hear and say.
Key phrase ゆっくり話してください Please speak slowly Open the card above ↑
Manga scene · Read from right to leftRead from top to bottom
The nod Leo decided not to give
While returning a stack of clean cups to the shelf before opening, Haru gives Leo a natural-speed route to a nearby photo exhibition and traces several turns on one blank landmark map.
Haru東口を出て、二つ目の角を右に…
Go out the east exit and turn right at the second corner…
Leo catches 東口 and 右 and begins an automatic smile, but he leaves the map open when his finger stops at the exit node before the first turn.
LeoIf I nod now, I still cannot choose the first step.
Leo stops the nod, points to the unclear first step, and asks Haru to say that part a little more slowly before Haru turns back to the waiting cups.
Leoすみません。もう少しゆっくり言ってください。
Excuse me. Please say it a little more slowly.
Haru repeats only the first step. Leo confirms it, circles the station-exit node, lifts the map from the counter, and steps away while Haru carries the clean cups toward the shelf.
Leo東口ですね。
The east exit, right?
Dialogue remains selectable HTML. The illustrations contain no dependable generated text.
Leo stops the automatic nod, asks for the first step more slowly, confirms 東口, and lifts the map while Haru carries the waiting cups toward the shelf. Haru does not stop opening the café to teach the whole route, and Leo does not pretend he heard it. One specific request lets both adults continue.
Choose the request that matches the gap
“I did not understand” can hide three different problems. Choose one request instead of making the other person guess.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
もう少しゆっくり言ってください | mō sukoshi yukkuri itte kudasai | Please say it a little more slowly | Speech speed is the main problem |
もう一度お願いします | mō ichido onegaishimasu | One more time, please | One pass or one part was missed |
よく分かりません | yoku wakarimasen | I don't really understand | Repetition alone may not solve the gap |
この言葉が分かりません | kono kotoba ga wakarimasen | I don't understand this word | You can point to or repeat the exact word |
The first two lines ask the speaker to change the delivery. The third reports that understanding is still incomplete. The fourth identifies the gap itself. You can combine one gap statement with one request, but you do not need to recite the whole table.
Ask for slower speech with yukkuri hanashite kudasai
The primary phrase has three useful parts:
ゆっくり 話して ください
slowly + speak (て-form) + please
ください after a verb’s て-form makes a clear polite request. Add もう少し when the conversation has already begun and you want “a little more slowly”:
すみません。もう少しゆっくり言ってください。
Excuse me. Please say it a little more slowly.
話してください asks for slow speech. 言ってください can focus on saying the current message again. Their use overlaps, and the natural choice depends on the exchange, so qualified Japanese-language review remains required for the scripts on this page.
Ask for one repeat when only a piece is missing
Use もう一度お願いします when another pass may solve the problem:
すみません。もう一度お願いします。
Excuse me. One more time, please.
If you caught most of the message, name the part instead of restarting everything:
最後の言葉をもう一度お願いします。
The last word, one more time, please.
駅の名前をもう一度お願いします。
The station name, one more time, please.
If the repeated sentence still contains an unknown word, repeating it again at the same speed may not help. Change the repair: say what remains unclear, point to the word, or ask for written or visual information when that is available.
Name the gap when speed is not the problem
Slower speech is not automatically easier speech. よく分かりません reports that you do not really understand; follow it with the part you missed when you can.
すみません。よく分かりません。
Excuse me. I don't really understand.
この言葉が分かりません。
I don't understand this word.
Point to a written word, repeat the sound you caught, or identify the missing place or number. The other person may rephrase, write, or gesture. Say exactly what is missing, then let the other person choose the clearest response available to them.
Confirm the fact you recovered
A repair is not finished merely because the speaker talked again. Repeat the detail that controls your next action and let the other person confirm or correct it.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
東口ですね | higashiguchi desu ne | The east exit, right? | Confirm the place or route start |
三時ですね | san-ji desu ne | Three o'clock, right? | Confirm a time before moving |
右ですね | migi desu ne | To the right, correct? | Confirm one direction |
ここですか | koko desu ka | Is it here? | Ask when the location itself remains uncertain |
ですね echoes the candidate you think you heard and invites confirmation. A focused ですか question can also check a candidate, as in ここですか. If you did not recover any candidate at all, ask a focused question or request another repeat. The directions lesson owns the full route exchange; this lesson owns the listening repair and the one-detail check.
Use the reply to choose your next move
The exact reply varies. Listen for the one detail that changes what you do next; do not use a polite nod as proof that you understood.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
東口です | higashiguchi desu | It's the east exit | Echo 東口ですね before you move |
三時です | san-ji desu | It's at three o'clock | Echo 三時ですね to check the time |
どこが分かりませんか | doko ga wakarimasen ka | Which part don't you understand? | Name the word, number, or place |
書きましょうか | kakimashō ka | Shall I write it down? | Use the written clue and verify the same fact |
The speaker may still talk too quickly, may not know how to simplify the sentence, or may be unable to continue. Point to the exact gap, change the repair once, or use another reliable channel. In an urgent, medical, legal, financial, workplace-authority, or other high-consequence exchange, do not act on a partly understood repeat; use appropriate interpretation, written confirmation, or the responsible service’s official language-support channel.
Practice the full four-turn exchange
Use a four-step loop:
- Open the interruption: すみません.
- Name one need: slower speech, one repeat, or the part that remains unclear.
- Listen for one word, number, or place.
- Echo that detail and act only after confirmation.
Imagine a staff member confirming a reservation time:
Staff: 予約は三時です。
You: すみません。もう一度お願いします。
Staff: 三時です。
You: 三時ですね。ありがとうございます。
The goal is not to decode every grammar point. It is to recover 三時, the fact that determines the next move.
Repair one gap and confirm one fact
- ゆっくり話してください clearly asks for slower speech.
- もう一度お願いします asks for one repetition.
- よく分かりません reports that understanding is still incomplete.
- Name one missing word, number, or place instead of restarting the whole exchange.
- Repeat the recovered fact with ですね or ask with ですか before you act.
The small change is not perfect listening. It is replacing the smile that hides a gap with one request the other person can answer. Once you can recover a number, use the same confirmation habit when you ask how much something is in Japanese.
Street Check · 1–3 minutes
Try the real-world task
Name one listening gap, request one fitting repair, and confirm the word, number, or place that controls the next action.
Ready means:
- From a written or pictured scene, I can choose slower speech, one repetition, or name the part that remains unclear.
- I can identify the word, number, or place that I missed instead of restarting the whole exchange.
- With reliable audio or in a real exchange, I can repeat the recovered detail and check it before acting.
Build the route
Before this lesson
Use the detail you recovered