Work in Japan · 27 lessons
Choose Japanese for the next workplace task.
A lesson filter—not company policy, employment advice, or a course. Pick one task; use Lesson 1 only for foundations.
Immediate safety
Immediate danger in Japan?
Stop using this site. Call 119 when a fire engine or ambulance is needed, or 110 for a crime or accident requiring an immediate police response. Do not work through language lessons first.
Direct answer
Choose what is happening now—not the earliest lesson number.
If nobody is in immediate danger, choose the communication task in front of you: greet someone, ask for help, confirm an instruction, check a deadline, report a result, start a leave request, make a call, or understand a disruption. This page cannot set a deadline, approve work or leave, determine employment conditions or legal rights, verify a caller, or replace workplace and emergency procedures.
Six workplace task families · one support group
What do you need to communicate at work?
Open only the group that matches the exchange in front of you. Lesson numbers are Roadmap references, not steps you must complete here.
Begin or repair contact · 6 lessonsI need to greet, introduce, thank, repair, or slow the exchange.Make first contact in the current workplace moment
Choose one short move for the person, relationship, channel, and moment in front of you.
Boundary: Formality, authority, reporting channels, confidentiality, and required records differ by workplace. Follow current verified workplace instructions.
- Japanese Greetings: 15 Useful Phrases for Everyday LifeCan-do: Choose an appropriate Japanese greeting for the time and relationship.Open this lesson
- How to Introduce Yourself in JapaneseCan-do: Give a 20-second Japanese self-introduction.Open this lesson
- Arigatou Meaning: 7 Natural Ways to Say Thank You in JapaneseCan-do: Thank someone in casual and polite everyday situations.Open this lesson
- Sumimasen Meaning: Sorry, Excuse Me, or Thank You?Can-do: Use sumimasen to get attention, make a small apology, or acknowledge another person's effort.Open this lesson
- How to Say “Please Speak Slowly” in JapaneseCan-do: Ask a speaker to slow down or repeat, then confirm one recovered detail without ending the conversation.Open this lesson
- Japanese Workplace Greetings for Your First WeekCan-do: Greet coworkers on arrival and leave work politely.Open this lesson
Clarify the next action · 2 lessonsI need help or need to confirm an instruction.Ask for help or check what you understood
Choose the exchange closest to the task, instruction, or mismatch in front of you.
Boundary: A phrase can support clarification; it cannot assign authority, change priority or scope, or approve a plan. Confirm the task and decision owner through the current workplace channel.
Confirm timing and status · 2 lessonsI need to check a deadline or report a result.Confirm when it is due or close the communication loop
Choose the exchange closest to the deadline, completed work, remaining issue, or handoff in front of you.
Boundary: Examples do not set the real deadline, owner, scope, approval authority, or completion status. Submitted, received, reviewed, and approved are different states.
Start a procedure or support handoff · 3 lessonsI need a form, a leave request, or a consultation.State the request and ask who owns the next decision
Choose the language task closest to the form, availability question, or support handoff in front of you.
Boundary: These lessons cannot determine form requirements, work authorization, contract terms, wages or hours, leave entitlement, required notice, approval, discipline, legal rights, or a consultation outcome. Confirm the current procedure and decision with the responsible workplace, institution, or qualified adviser.
- Japanese Form Filling Phrases: Name, Address, and HelpCan-do: Complete the identity and address fields of a basic form with staff guidance.Open this lesson
- Japanese Time-off Request Phrases: Start the ConversationCan-do: State a requested absence and understand the workplace's next procedural step.Open this lesson
- Safety / procedure preparationJapanese Consultation Desk Phrases: Find the Right SupportCan-do: Explain one practical problem and follow a confirmed referral to the right support.Open this lesson
Use a phone channel · 1 lessonI need to start, answer, or return a workplace call.Make the call without treating a name as proof
Use the phone lesson to open, identify the stated purpose, ask for repetition, and confirm the next safe contact step.
Boundary: A displayed number or organization name does not verify identity. Do not share passwords, PINs, one-time codes, or unnecessary personal data; use a known official channel.
Prepare before disruption or danger · 4 lessonsA delay, disaster, or emergency may affect work.Report observable facts and follow current instructions
These four lessons are language preparation for disruption and urgent situations, not live assessment or response.
Boundary: These lessons cannot decide whether travel, attendance, or waiting is safe; replace emergency services or a live alert; set employer reporting duties; or guarantee an outcome. Follow current emergency, operator, authority, and workplace instructions.
- Safety / procedure preparationJapanese Emergency Phrases: How to Ask for HelpCan-do: Ask for emergency help and give a simple location and problem.Open this lesson
- Japanese Train Delay Phrases: Ask What Happens NextCan-do: Identify a train delay and confirm one workable next travel step.Open this lesson
- Safety / procedure preparationJapanese Earthquake Phrases: Understand Immediate InstructionsCan-do: Recognize one immediate earthquake instruction and confirm where to move next.Open this lesson
- Safety / procedure preparationJapanese Typhoon Phrases: Understand Warnings and ClosuresCan-do: Recognize one typhoon warning and confirm the current local action.Open this lesson
Support, not another workplace task · 9 lessonsScripts, sound, or sentence choices block every task.Open a foundation or grammar reference
Use this support group only when the language system—not the workplace exchange—is what stops you.
Boundary: For one recommended order, switch to the Roadmap. Pre-N5 is Kotoba Street’s own foundation label, not an official JLPT level, workplace requirement, or prerequisite.
- Learn Japanese for Beginners: Choose Your First RouteCan-do: Choose one immediate Japanese need, select a route, and open its first useful lesson.Open this lesson
- Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji: How Japanese Writing WorksCan-do: Identify the hiragana, katakana, and kanji parts of one mixed Japanese word or message.Open this lesson
- Hiragana Chart for Beginners: Learn the 46 Basic CharactersCan-do: Read the five vowel hiragana and identify the main sound rows.Open this lesson
- Japanese Pronunciation Guide: Vowels, Rhythm, and Long SoundsCan-do: Pronounce the five Japanese vowels and hear the difference made by sound length.Open this lesson
- Japanese Sentence Structure: The Beginner’s GuideCan-do: Build a simple Japanese sentence with a topic, information, and final verb or predicate.Open this lesson
- What Does Desu Mean? Japanese Polite Sentences ExplainedCan-do: Make basic polite noun and adjective statements with desu.Open this lesson
- Wa vs Ga: How to Choose the Right Japanese ParticleCan-do: Use wa to establish a topic and ga to identify or present focused information in basic sentences.Open this lesson
- Ni vs De in Japanese: Place and Action ParticlesCan-do: Use ni for a destination or existence and de for where an action happens.Open this lesson
- Japanese Masu Form: Present, Past, Negative, and Past NegativeCan-do: Say what you do, do not do, did, and did not do in polite Japanese.Open this lesson