I'd like to think that we humans are pretty creative...

...except for when conversations hit an awkward silence.

For example, when you're having a conversation, in Japanese, with a Japanese person, and there is a lull in the conversation, they might be thinking, "Agh! What should I say to this gaijin?!"

This seems to lead to one of "the questions Japanese people ask foreigners."

One of these is, "Can you use chopsticks?" But we'll save that one for another day.

Instead, let's look at, "How long have you been in Japan?"

A question I've been asked 86 million times.

And I've probably messed up my answer 85.999998 million times. Luckily, you can avoid that with my plethora of questions and answers below...

*Lesson Note #1: All of the questions and answers listed below are pretty much interchangeable. I just divided them into different sections to keep things fresh and interesting. Oh also, it may be fun to note that there is such a wide variety of options for saying essentially the same things. ^^

**Lesson Note #2: Since this tends to be a conversation held between strangers or new acquaintances, all of the sentences are in polite Japanese.

***Lesson Note #3: Since there are quite a few sentences in this lesson, I'm going to save the notes and grammar breakdowns for tomorrow. Today, maybe just try to see how much you can piece together using the translations and the literal breakdowns. Have fun!

Question:
日本は長いですか？
にほん　は　ながい　です　か？
Have you been in Japan a long time?
Literally: "Japan + は + long + ですか？"

Answer #1:
来たばっかりです。
きた　ばっかり　です。
I just came here (recently).
Literally: "came + only + です."

Answer #2:
今年で５年目です。
ことし　で　ごねんめ　です。
This is my fifth year here.
Literally: "this year + で + fifth year + です."

Answer #3:
アメリカより長いです。
アメリカ　より　ながい　です。
I've been here longer than I lived in the U.S.
Literally: "America + more than + long + です."

Question:
いつ日本に来たんですか？
いつ　にほん　に　きた　んですか？
When did you come to Japan?
Literally: "when + Japan + に + came + んですか？"

Answer #1:
３ヶ月前に来ました。
さんかげつ　まえ　に　きました。
I came here three months ago.
Literally: "three months + before + に + came."

Answer #2:
去年の夏に来ました。
きょねん　の　なつ　に　きました。
I came in the summer of last year.
Literally: "last year + の + summer + に + came."

Answer #3:
もう１０年以上前です。
もう　じゅうねん　いじょう　まえ　です。
It's already been ten years since I came here.
Literally: "already + ten years + over + before + です."

Question:
日本に来てどれくらいですか？
にほん　に　きて　どれくらい　です　か？
How long has it been since you came to Japan?
Literally: "Japan + に + come (and) + how much + ですか？"

Answer #1:
５ヶ月くらいです。
ごかげつ　くらい　です。
About five months.
Literally: "five months + about + です."

Answer #2:
先月来たばっかりです。
せんげつ　きた　ばっかり　です。
I just got here last month.
Literally: "last month + came + only + です."

Answer #3:
もうすぐ１年になります。
もうすぐ　いちねん　に　なります。
It will be one year soon.
Literally: "soon + one year + becomes."

Question:
日本にはどれくらい住んでるんですか？
にほん　に　は　どれ　くらい　すんでる　んですか？
How long have you been living in Japan?
Literally: "Japan + には + how much + are living + んですか？"

Answer #1:
半年くらいです。
はんとし　くらい　です。
About six months. // About half a year.
Literally: "half a year + about + です."

Answer #2:
留学に来たのも合わせたら２年くらいです。
りゅうがく　に　きた　の　も　あわせたら　にねん　くらい　です。
Including when I came to study, I've been here about two years.
Literally: "study abroad + に + came + のも + when/if combined + two years + about + です."

Answer #3:
人生の半分以上日本に住んでます。
じんせい　の　はんぶん　いじょう　にほん　に　すんでます。
I've lived in Japan for over half of my life.
Literally: "life + の + half + over + Japan + に + am living."

Like I said above, grammar notes and more detailed explanations will be in the next lesson.

Even if you don't understand what's going on entirely, though, you might want to memorize one of the answers that could apply to your situation. If you're in Japan and using Japanese, I can almost guarantee that you'll find a chance to use it.