japanese expressions when entering a room

December 21, 2015 12:27 PM

There are typical expressions upon entering/leaving a room w/people. What are the protocals?
posted by ebesan to Society & Culture (7 answers total)

The standard phrase when entering is "Ojamashimasu", which literally means something like " I'm going to be in the way."

For leaving, it'll depend more on the circumstances and who you're talking to.
posted by tau_ceti at 12:50 PM on December 21, 2015

Response by poster: a restaurant, or a friend's house
posted by ebesan at 12:58 PM on December 21, 2015

Typical for entering a room, such an office conference room, would be "shitsurei shimasu" and when you leave, "shitsurei shimashita". You might also use "ojama shimasu" but this is more commonly said when entering someone's home and when you leave, "osewa ni narimashita" when leaving the home.

On your follow-up, there is nothing to say when entering a restaurant but it is common to say "gochisousama deshita" when leaving a restaurant. You would just say this to the last person you see before leaving, usually the cashier although it could also be the chef behind the counter at a sushi or noodle bar.
posted by Tanizaki at 1:01 PM on December 21, 2015 [2 favorites]

On entering a shop where you don't see a staff person right away, or when stopping by someone's home/office in a work capacity (delivery person, local government employee), you might say, "gomen kudasai".
posted by chocotaco at 1:23 PM on December 21, 2015

When coming home, "tadaima", (I'm home) and the other person responds, "okaeri," (welcome home).
posted by xo at 2:27 PM on December 21, 2015 [2 favorites]

If you're leaving a room and others are coming with you, you might say "ikimashou" (pronounced "ee-kee-ma-SHO", written 行きましょう), which means "Let's go!" (Or as my father would always joke, "Let's get this ikimashow on the road!")
posted by Soliloquy at 2:46 PM on December 21, 2015 [9 favorites]

I work in a Japanese company in Tokyo. To add to what others have said above- sometimes when leaving people say "o saki ni" or its various more polite forms when leaving work, basically meaning, "I am leaving first". The other common workplace one is o tsukare sama deshita. Basically meaning "thanks for your hard work". But yes, shitsure shimasu, okaeri, tadaima, ojama, those are the common ones for people's homes and go chisou sama deshita for leaving restaurants as a customer. Of course the restaurant employees will say irrashaimase when you arrive as a customer.
posted by banishedimmortal at 5:44 AM on December 22, 2015