【お茶（おちゃ）】”OCHA”
Meaning:
tea
Usage:
「お弁当と一緒にお茶はいかがですか？」
（おべんとうといっしょにおちゃはいかがですか？）
(Obentō to issho ni ocha wa ikagadesuka?)
” Would you like some tea with your bento box?”
- When Japanese people say “お茶 (tea)”, they usually mean green tea, barley tea, or oolong tea. In the case of black tea, they say “紅茶 (こうちゃ / kōcha)”.
- There is an idiom, “お茶(を)する (おちゃ[を]する / Ocha [wo] suru). The literal translation is “do tea”. The meaning is “to grab a tea/coffee”. It can also be used to say “go to a cafe”.
- “いかがですか？” means “Would you like some?” and “…はいかがですか？” means “Would you like some …?” (For example, “いちご (strawberries) はいかがですか？” means “Would you like some strawberries?”)
However, when used alone, it can mean “Would you like some?” or “How do you like it?” depending on the context.
Glossary:
お弁当（おべんとう）: bento box, lunch box
一緒に（いっしょに）: together with
お茶（おちゃ）: tea
いかが: how, how do you like
いかがですか: Would you like, How do you like
【紅茶（こうちゃ）】”KŌCHA”
Meaning:
black tea
Usage:
「紅茶にミルクかレモンは入れますか？」
（こうちゃにみるくかれもんはいれますか？）
(Kōcha ni miruku ka remon wa iremasuka?)
“Would you like to add milk or a sliced lemon to your (black) tea?”
- There are four types of black tea that are commonly drunk in Japan: Darjeeling (ダージリン [だーじりん / Dājirin]), Earl Grey (アールグレイ [あーるぐれい / Āru Gurē]), Assam (アッサム [あっさむ / Assamu]), and Ceylon (セイロン [せいろん / Seiron]).
- When you order a cup of tea, you will often be asked, “Would you like to add milk or a sliced lemon to your tea?” Refer to the sample responses below.
- You’d like milk:
「ミルクをお願いします。」
（みるくをおねがいします。）
(Miruku wo onegai shimasu.)
“Milk, please.” - You’d like lemon:
「レモンをお願いします。」
（れもんをおねがいします。）
(Remon wo onegai shimasu.)
“Lemon, please.” - You wouldn’t need any:
「ストレートでお願いします。」
（すとれーとでおねがいします。）
(Sutorēto de onegai shimasu.)
“Without lemon or milk (or sugar), please.”
- You’d like milk:
Glossary:
紅茶（こうちゃ）: black tea
ミルク（みるく）: milk
レモン（れもん）: lemon
入れる（いれる）: to put in, to insert, to add
【コーヒー（こーひー）】”KŌHĪ”
Meaning:
coffee
Usage:
「駅前のコーヒー屋さんで待ち合わせしましょう。」
（えきまえのこーひーやさんでまちあわせしましょう。）
(Ekimae no kōhīyasan de machiawase shimashou.)
“Let’s meet up at the coffee shop in front of the station.”
- In Japan, especially in city centers, there are many occasions to meet up with someone at some place “駅前 (えきまえ / in front of the station)” because stores are often clustered around the station. This expression is definitely worth remembering!
- Along with “待ち合わせ (まちあわせ / an arrangement of meeting up with someone)”, you should also know the word “集合 (しゅうごう)”.You use it when you gather people, such as during a sports practice. From there, the word was derived to be used when meeting up with people.
Usage:
「どこで待ち合わせしようか？」 – 「お店の前で集合ね！」
（どこでまちあわせしようか？ - おみせのまえでしゅうごうね！）
(Doko de machiawase shiyouka? – Omise no mae de shūgō ne!)
“Where should we meet up?” – “Meet up in front of the store!”
Glossary:
駅前（えきまえ）: in front of a station
コーヒー（こーひー）: coffee
コーヒー屋さん（こーひーやさん）：coffee shop, coffee store
待ち合わせ（まちあわせ）: an appointment or arrangement of meeting up with someone
待ち合わせする（まちあわせする）: to arrange to meet up with someone
～しましょう : Let’s do …
【お水（おみず）】”OMIZU”
Meaning:
water
Usage:
「この薬をお水で飲んでください。」
（このくすりをおみずでのんでください。）
(Kono kusuri wo omizu de nonde kudasai.)
“Take this medicine with water.”
- You can say “水 (みず / mizu)” instead of “お水 (おみず / omizu). “お (o)” is a prefix to make it polite.
*However, if you omit the prefix of “お茶 (tea)” and “お酒 (alcohol)” in daily conversation, it sounds a little curt and rude. - In English, the collocation of medicines is “take”, but in Japan, we use “飲む (のむ / nomu)”, which means “drink”.
Glossary:
この: this (pre-noun adjectival)
薬（くすり）: medicine, drug
水（みず）: water
飲む（のむ）: to drink, to take (medicine)
ください: please
【ジュース（じゅーす）】”JŪSU”
Meaning:
juice, soda, (sweetened) soft drink
Usage:
「オレンジジュースをこぼしちゃった。」
（おれんじじゅーすをこぼしちゃった。）
(orenji jūsu wo koboshichatta.)
“I spilled my orange juice.”
- In English, “juice” generally refers to drinks made from the juice of fruits and vegetables, but in Japanese, it also includes cola, soda, and ginger ale. Sweetened soft drinks are classified as juice in Japan.
- 「～(し)ちゃった」is the past tense of 「～(し)ちゃう (shichau)」. 「～(し)ちゃう」is a casual a colloquial phrase of 「～(し)てしまう (shiteshimau)」(the past tense: 「～(し)てしまった [shiteshimatta]」). It has two main meanings:
- to do something accidentally:
In this case, it often includes the sense of regret. It is used when you have done something that you shouldn’t have.
Usage:
「鍵をなくしちゃった。」
（かぎをなくしちゃった。）
(Kagi wo nakushichatta.)
“I lost my key.” - to finish doing completely:
In this case, it contains a nuance that may surprise the listener. For example, it is used when you have finished something unexpectedly fast (and a listener doesn’t know it).
Usage:
「私のアイスクリームはどこ？」 – 「もう全部食べちゃったよ。」
（わたしのあいすくりーむはどこ？ – もうぜんぶたべちゃったよ。）
(Watashi no aisucrīmu wa doko? – Mō zenbu tabechattayo.)
“Where is my ice cream?” – I’ve already eaten all.”
- to do something accidentally:
Glossary:
オレンジ（おれんじ）: orange (you can use it for a fruit and for a color.)
ジュース（じゅーす）: juice, soda, (sweetened) soft drink
こぼす: to spill
～しちゃう: to do … accidentally, to finish doing completely
【牛乳（ぎゅうにゅう）】”GYŪNYŪ”
Meaning:
milk
Usage:
「この子は牛乳のアレルギーがあります。」
（このこはぎゅうにゅうのあれるぎーがあります。）
(Konoko wa gyūnyū no arerugī ga arimasu.)
“This child is allergic to milk.”
- In Japan, the following seven items that are likely to cause serious allergies are written on the labels of foods:
- 小麦 (こむぎ / komugi): wheat
- 卵 (たまご / tamago): egg
- 乳 (にゅう / nyū): milk
- 落花生 (らっかせい / rakkasei): peanut
- そば (soba) : buckwheat
- えび (ebi) : shrimp, prawn
- かに (kani) : crab
- If you would like to tell someone that you can’t eat something because of an allergy, use the following phrase:
「アレルギーで食べられません。」
（あれるぎーでたべられません。）
(Arerugī de taberaremasen.)
“I can’t eat it because of allergies.”
Glossary:
この: this (pre-noun adjectival)
子（こ）: kid(s), child(ren)
牛乳（ぎゅうにゅう）: milk
アレルギー（あれるぎー）: allergy
～がある: There is/are …
【お酒（おさけ）】”OSAKE”
Meaning:
alcohol, alcoholic beverage
Usage:
「お酒の飲みすぎは体に悪いよ。」
（おさけののみすぎはからだにわるいよ。）
(Osake no nomisugi wa karada ni waruiyo.)
“Drinking too much alcohol is bad for your body.
- “～すぎ (過ぎ / sugi)” means doing something too much or over-doing something.
Usage:- 食べすぎ (たべすぎ / tabesugi) : eating too much
- 働きすぎ (はたらきすぎ / hatarakisugi) : working too much
- スピードの出し過ぎ（すぴーどのだしすぎ / supīdo no dashisugi) : over-speeding
- If you don’t or can’t drink alcohol, keep the following phrases in mind.
「お酒が飲めません。」
（おさけがのめません。）
(Osake ga nomemasen.)
“I can’t (don’t) drink alcohol.”
Glossary:
お酒（おさけ）: alcohol, alcoholic beverage
飲む（のむ）: to drink
～すぎ: too much …, over-…
飲みすぎ（のみすぎ）: drinking too much
体（からだ）: body, health
悪い（わるい）: bad
