How To: Hold a dinner conversation with Japanese etiquette

This video language lesson explains how to hold polite dinner conversation in Japanese, focusing on traditional Japanese table etiquette. At the beginning of a meal, a typical thing to hear is "itadakimasu". Translated literally, it means, "I will partake." When finished with a meal, everyone says, "gochiso-sama", which is a way of expressing respect for the meal. The names of the utensils used in a Japanese meal are "hashi" (chopsticks), spoon (same as in English) and "foh-ku" (fork), "coppu" (cup), "osala" (plate), "ochawan" (rice bowl). Tea is "ocha", water is "mizu", and juice is the same as in English. When eating noodles or soup, it's okay to slurp. In a ramen noodle restaurant, you will hear a lot of slurping. The way to ask for something is to say "_____ o onegaishimasu." He gives several examples of asking for something to be passed at the table: "yasai" (vegetables), "kosho" (pepper), "shio" (salt). If you want a drink, you don't need the "o" in the middle of the sentence. To eat miso soup, they don't use spoons; they typically use chopsticks to take the tofu and seaweed out while slurping the liquid from the bowl. Hold the bowl up to your face with two fingers underneath at your thumb at the top. This video is a very interesting lesson in culture as well as Japanese language.