To close this short conversation guide, I'm going to give you a few phrases that can be lifesavers when talking to a teacher. These are particularly useful if you decide to take Japanese lessons with a teacher who doesn't speak very good English.

Xは何(なん)と言(い)いますか。
X wa nan to iimasuka?
How do you say X?

You're probably best off just memorizing this flat out. 何, which is sometimes pronounced なん (nan) and sometimes pronounced なに (nani), means “what.” (Bonus Hint: Before と (to), 何 will always be pronounced なん (nan).)

言う (iu) means “to say.” And here we have the –masu form, which is 言います (iimasu).

と (to) is a particle that is used to mark stuff sometimes. I could explain it in confusing detail, but suffice it to say that sometimes when you stick it after a noun, it's like putting quotation marks around that word. So in this example, it would be like putting quotes around “何.” Confusing? Yeah, then don't worry about. That's a topic for a much later lesson.

Check this video for pronunciation. In it, she slips in 日本語で (nihongo de), which means “in Japanese:”

Xは日本語(にほんご)で何(なん)と言(い)いますか。
X wa nihongo de nan to iimasuka?
How do you say X in Japanese?

Originally I left out “in Japanese,” because it should be obvious. But maybe a little clarity is a good thing, so let's memorize this with 日本語で / nihongo de included.

To prepare, just practice saying this sentence 28,000 times, inserting new things for X every time:

X	Xは日本語(にほんご)で何(なん)と言(い)いますか	X wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka	How do you say X in Japanese?
cat	Catは日本語(にほんご)で何(なん)と言(い)いますか	X wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka	How do you say cat in Japanese?
scissors	Scissorsは日本語(にほんご)で何(なん)と言(い)いますか	X wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka	How do you say scissors in Japanese?
unemployment	Unemploymentは日本語(にほんご)で何(なん)と言(い)いますか	X wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka	How do you say unemployment in Japanese?
painful	Painfulは日本語(にほんご)で何(なん)と言(い)いますか	X wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka	How do you say painful in Japanese?
green tea	Green teaは日本語(にほんご)で何(なん)と言(い)いますか	X wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka	How do you say green tea in Japanese?
tissue	Tissueは日本語(にほんご)で何(なん)と言(い)いますか	X wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka	How do you say tissue in Japanese?
idiot	Idiotは日本語(にほんご)で何(なん)と言(い)いますか	X wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka	How do you say idiot in Japanese?
friend	Friendは日本語(にほんご)で何(なん)と言(い)いますか	X wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka	How do you say friend in Japanese?
snow	Snowは日本語(にほんご)で何(なん)と言(い)いますか	X wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka	How do you say snow in Japanese?
weird	Weirdは日本語(にほんご)で何(なん)と言(い)いますか	X wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka	How do you say weird in Japanese?
forget	Forgetは日本語(にほんご)で何(なん)と言(い)いますか	X wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka	How do you say forget in Japanese?

By the way, here are the answers:

cat	猫(ねこ)	neko
scissors	はさみ	hasami
unemployment	失業(しつぎょう)	shitsugyou
painful	痛(いた)い	itai
green tea	緑茶(りょくちゃ)	ryokucha
tissue	ティッシュ	tisshu
idiot	バカ	baka
friend	友達(ともだち)	tomodachi
snow	雪(ゆき)	yuki
weird	変(へん)	hen
forget	忘(わす)れる	wasureru

If you get a teacher who understands English well, you can now ask them what pretty much anything means. For example…

「I was hungover」は日本語(にほんご)で何(なん)と言(い)いますか
How do you say “I was hungover” in Japanese?

Hangover / Hungover is 二日酔い (futsuka yoi), by the way. Add です (desu) or だ (da) to make it present tense. Or you can add でした (deshita) (formal) or だった (datta) (common; casual) to make it past tense:

二日酔(ふつかよ)いだ I'm hungover.

二日酔(ふつかよ)いです I'm hungover.

二日酔(ふつかよ)いでした I was hungover.

二日酔(ふつかよ)いだった I was hungover.

Most of you probably won't need that for your first lesson, I'm hoping. You never know, though…