The first time I heard すみません (*sumimasen*) in the wild, I thought the person was apologizing. They were at a restaurant, flagging down a waiter. That moment stuck with me — one word doing four jobs at once, and I didn't know any of them yet. These five phrases are the ones I kept running into before I knew enough Japanese to know I needed them.
Before diving in: you'll get more out of these if you can read hiragana. The phrases are written in Japanese script throughout, not just romaji. If hiragana is still unfamiliar, the getting started with hiragana guide is worth reading first — it takes most people a few weeks of daily practice.
ありがとう (*arigatou*) — Thank you
Written: ありがとう
Formal version: ありがとうございます (*arigatou gozaimasu*)
Past tense version: ありがとうございました (*arigatou gozaimashita*)
The casual form you'll hear constantly among friends and family. For most situations outside of close friends, reach for the fuller ありがとうございます (*arigatou gozaimasu*). After something has already happened — a favor someone did, a meal someone cooked — ありがとうございました (*arigatou gozaimashita*) is more natural, since the *-mashita* ending marks past tense.
When to use which form
The three forms sit on a politeness spectrum. Casual ありがとう is fine with people you know well, but can read as blunt or even dismissive if used with a stranger or someone senior to you. The formal versions (*gozaimasu* / *gozaimashita*) cover you in almost any situation — a shop assistant, a colleague, a host family.
The *-mashita* distinction is subtle but worth internalizing early. If someone holds a door open right now, say ありがとうございます. If someone ran an errand for you yesterday, say ありがとうございました. In casual speech this difference often collapses, but in polite or professional settings it matters.
Common mistake
Don't confuse the casual ありがとう with the romanization *arigato* you'll see in tourist contexts. The final *u* is often devoiced in natural speech, making it sound closer to *arigato* — but it's still there. When you're writing or reading the word, the う is always present.
すみません (*sumimasen*) — Excuse me / Sorry / Thanks
Written: すみません
Casual apology: ごめん (*gomen*)
Serious apology: 申し訳ございません (*moushiwake gozaimasen*)
This is the phrase I didn't understand until it clicked all at once. It works when you're getting someone's attention, when you're apologizing for a small inconvenience, and even as a kind of thank-you when someone has gone out of their way for you. Calling a waiter, squeezing past someone on a train, asking a stranger for directions — すみません handles all of it.
The three registers of apology
ごめん (*gomen*) is strictly casual — use it with close friends and family. Using it with anyone you don't know well can come across as dismissive or immature. Some people soften it with ごめんなさい (*gomen nasai*) when they want to sound a bit more sincere without going fully formal.
すみません is the safe middle ground. It's polite, widely applicable, and appropriate in nearly any public setting. When in doubt, this is the one to use.
申し訳ございません (*moushiwake gozaimasen*) is for situations where you genuinely need to show remorse — a serious mistake at work, an error that inconvenienced someone significantly. The literal meaning is something like "there is no excuse," which gives you a sense of the weight it carries. You won't need this often as a beginner, but you'll hear it in formal service contexts.
すみません as a quasi-thank-you
One thing that surprised me: すみません is also used to express gratitude when someone has done something they didn't have to do. If a stranger goes out of their way to help you, ありがとうございます says "thank you." すみません says something closer to "I'm sorry to have put you out, and I'm grateful." Both are appropriate, but the nuance is different. Over time you'll develop a feel for which one fits the moment.
おはようございます (*ohayou gozaimasu*) — Good morning
Written: おはようございます
Casual version: おはよう (*ohayou*)
Daytime greeting: こんにちは (*konnichiwa*)
Evening greeting: こんばんは (*konbanwa*)
Used until roughly 10 or 11 AM. After that, こんにちは (*konnichiwa*) takes over until evening, then こんばんは (*konbanwa*). The casual おはよう is fine for family or close friends. The full おはようございます is the polite form you'd use with anyone else.
The shift-start quirk
One thing I noticed: in the entertainment industry and some service jobs, おはよう gets used at any hour as a "start of shift" greeting — it's a cultural convention that means "this is the beginning of our working time together" regardless of what the clock says. If you ever work on a film set or in a similar environment, don't be confused when someone says おはよう at 7 PM.
Pronunciation note
The *u* at the end of おはよう is often devoiced in natural speech, similar to ありがとう. You'll hear it as *ohayō* (a long o sound) rather than *ohayou*. Both the devoiced and fully pronounced versions are correct — the devoiced version is just more natural in casual speech.
Common mistake
Learners sometimes swap こんにちは for おはようございます in the morning out of habit from studying the written forms. Once you're past the first few weeks, let time of day guide which one you reach for.
いただきます (*itadakimasu*) — Said before eating
Written: いただきます
Said after eating: ごちそうさまでした (*gochisousama deshita*)
There's no direct English translation for this, which makes it worth knowing early. It's said before every meal — at restaurants, at home, even eating alone. The literal sense comes from *itadaku*, a humble verb meaning "to receive," and it extends gratitude toward everyone involved in putting the food in front of you: the farmers, the cook, the animals, the whole chain.
ごちそうさまでした closes the loop when the meal ends. Together, these two phrases frame eating as something worth marking — which in Japanese culture, it is.
Building the habit
I started saying both of these while eating at my desk, just to build the habit. It feels strange at first. It stops feeling strange. When you eventually eat with Japanese people and can drop these naturally, it reads as genuine cultural awareness rather than memorized etiquette — because you'll say them without thinking about it.
At restaurants
In a restaurant context, いただきます is said before you eat (said to yourself or to your dining companions, not to the staff). ごちそうさまでした is often said to the staff when you leave — it's a warm acknowledgment of the meal and the work that went into it. Staff will usually respond warmly.
Pronunciation note
The *su* at the end of いただきます is often devoiced in natural speech — you'll hear it as *itadakimas* with the *u* barely audible. Same with ごちそうさまでした — the *ta* and *su* at the end devoice. This devoicing pattern appears throughout Japanese and is worth getting used to early.
お疲れ様です (*otsukaresama desu*) — Acknowledgment of effort
Written: お疲れ様です
Casual version: お疲れ (*otsukare*)
Avoid toward superiors: ご苦労様です (*gokurousama desu*)
This one surprised me most when I first encountered it. Literally something like "you must be tired," but functionally it's a greeting between coworkers, a sign-off at the end of the day, and a general acknowledgment that someone has been working hard. You'll hear it constantly in any workplace context. The casual form お疲れ works with friends after practice, after a long event, any time effort has been expended.
The hierarchy trap
There's a similar phrase, ご苦労様です (*gokurousama desu*), that trips up a lot of learners. It means something similar on the surface, but it flows downward — from a superior to a subordinate. Using it toward your manager or anyone senior to you would come across as condescending or socially oblivious. Stick with お疲れ様です in any direction and you're safe.
Beyond the workplace
While お疲れ様です is most at home in professional settings, it's spread into casual usage too. After finishing a practice session with friends, after a concert, after any shared effort — お疲れ works as a natural sign-off. It's a flexible expression of "we did something together and I recognize that."
Using it as a greeting
You can use お疲れ様です when you see a coworker mid-shift, not just at the end of the day. Running into a colleague in the hallway at 2 PM and saying お疲れ様です is perfectly normal — it's less "you look tired" and more "I see you, I acknowledge your work."
Putting them together
These five phrases cover a surprising amount of ground for a beginner. What they have in common is that they're all about marking moments — gratitude, transitions, effort, meals. Japanese social language is full of these markers, and learning to use them naturally is one of the fastest ways to feel less like a tourist and more like someone who is genuinely engaging with the culture.
The next step is being able to read and write them without relying on romaji. All five of these are in hiragana, which has 46 characters — a reasonable investment that pays off quickly. You can practice the kana that appear in these phrases using Hirakata's study mode and come back to these phrases with a new level of ownership over them.
If you want to go deeper on vocabulary beyond set phrases, the vocabulary section covers JLPT N5–N1 word lists with audio — N5 is where most of the everyday words you'll actually need in conversation live.