Key phrases
nihon ryo‾ri                                       Japanese food
niku ryo‾ri                                          meat dishes
sakana ryo‾ri                                     fish dishes
yasai ryo‾ri                                        vegetable dishes
watashi wa nihon ryo‾riga suki desu                                                                                 I like Japanese food
watashi wa nihon ryo‾ri ga suki dewa arimasen                                                             I don’t like Japanese food
Sumisu-san wa nihon ryo‾ri ga suki desu ka?                                                                 Mr Smith, do you like Japanese food?
hai, suki desu                                     yes, I like it or yes, I like them
ıee, suki dewa arimasen                   no, I don’t like it or no,I don’t like them
ıee, chotto …                                      No, not really …

NOTE
bejitarian =vegetarian
bejitarian desu = I’m a vegetarian

Listening and speaking
Sumisu-san wa nihon ryo‾ri ga suki desu ka?                                                                   Mr Smith, do you like Japanese food?
Hai, suki desu.                                   Yes, I like it.
Watashi wa niku ryo‾ri ga suki desu. Teira‾ -san wa?                                                    I like meat dishes. And you, Mrs Taylor?
Watashi wa sakana ryo‾ri ga suki desu.                                                                              I like fish dishes.
Buraun-san wa sushi ga suki desu ka?                                                                                 Mr Brown, do you like sushi?
Iee, chotto…                                        No, not really…

LANGUAGE INFORMATION

How much do you like it?
suki desu means “like”, and you can easily add other words in front of suki to say how much you like something. ichiban literally means “number one”, so if something is your favourite you can say sushi ga ichiban suki desu – I like sushi the best/the most.
totemo means “very much”. So, you can say: sushi ga totemo suki desu – I like sushi very much.
And ma–ma– means “so-so”. If you don’t really like something, it’s probably better to say: sushi ga ma‾ma‾ suki desu – I kind of like sushi, rather than saying you don’t like it!

CULTURAL INFORMATION

Table manners
You might be shocked to hear Japanese people making loud slurping
noises as they eat noodles. However, don’t judge them as being illmannered,
because that’s the right way to eat noodles in Japan! The
slurping actually cools the noodles down, allowing you to eat them
while they’re still piping hot.
And when you use chopsticks, the following are considered bad
manners:
• licking or chewing your chopsticks;
• putting back anything you’ve already picked up with your
chopsticks; and
• dragging plates towards you with your chopsticks.

Oshibori – steamed hand towels
When you are seated in a restaurant or bar, you will receive a steamed
hand towel (or sometimes a paper towel). This is for you to clean your
hands. It’ll be either hot or cold depending on the season.