In the last lesson, [NDL #628] - Travel: Must-Have Survival Phrases, Part 1, we mostly covered everyday greetings that you'll almost certainly need on your journeys throughout Japan.

In our second installment of must-have survival phrases, we have a slightly more random assortment of words and phrases.

Knowing all of the phrases in these two lessons, you might not be able to hold a conversation in Japanese, but you will be able to show that you have put some work into understanding the language of the country you're visiting, which I'd say is a worthwhile activity anytime you travel abroad.

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Saying "I don't understand."

If someone explains something to you and you want to acknowledge that you understand what they've said (or want to pretend that you understand so that they'll go away), you can say:

わかりました。
わかりました。
I understand. // I got it. // I see.
Literally: “understood.”

You might be thinking, How am I gonna understand anything when I'm not fluent in Japanese?

Yeah, maybe you won't, if you're still a beginner.

But you can still understand someone pointing to a sign or a place on a map, and can still understand the body language of a fellow human being.

Still, saying that you don't understand might be a bit more useful:

わかりません。
わかりません。
I don’t understand.
Literally: “don’t understand.”

↑ That's good if you don't understand a situation, a word, an explanation―whatever.

↓ This is for saying that you don't understand (i.e. don't speak) Japanese.

日本語わかりません。
にほんご　わかりません。
I don’t speak Japanese.
Literally: “Japanese + don’t understand.”

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Saying "Help!!"

I hope that you don't encounter too many hardships in Japan.

Yeah, the crime rate is low, but that doesn't mean crime is nonexistent.

Also, there's always a chance that you'll slip walking down the stairs and break your leg.

When this happens, rather than remain calm, lose your cool and yell:

助けて！
たすけて！
Help!
Literally: “help (and) / save (and)!”

Every time I see the verb 助ける (たすける // to help; to save), I'm reminded of one of our very first lessons: [NDL #4] - Help! My Japanese Needs Saving.

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Saying "Where is the bathroom?"

Most people wouldn't know this by reading my lessons, but I'm a naturally shy person.

I have to muster up an unnatural amount of effort to do things like make phone calls, ask strangers for directions, and so on.

I've gotten better at this stuff as I've gotten older, mostly because I think being shy sucks. But my shyness seems to increase exponentially when it comes to speaking in a language that I don't know very well.

For example, I have been studying a bit of Korean lately, but I don't really try to talk to Korean people when I'm around them. (What if they quiz me?!)

There is one question I'm not afraid to ask, though, one that I'm sure you'll want to know before traveling in Japan:

トイレはどこですか？
トイレ　は　どこ　です　か？
Where’s the bathroom? // Where’s the toilet?
Literally: “toilet + は + where + です + か?”

There are other words for "bathroom" and "restroom" in Japanese, too. And there are other ways to phrase this sentence―for example, if you want to "borrow" the restroom or just wash your hands. If you want to learn all of those, check out this previous lesson of ours: [NDL #516] - Asking to Use the Restroom.

When you're just starting out with Japanese, I think the above sentence is enough on its own.

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Saying "Do you have Wi-Fi?"

Usually, being able to ask if there is Wi-Fi, and how to access it, is extremely useful while traveling.

In Japan, though, not so much.

Yeah, your hotel or AirBnB or whatever should have Wi-Fi, in which case the sentences below will be useful.

If you're planning to get around using free Wi-Fi from cafes and the like, though, you may have a rough time.

In my experience, finding free Wi-Fi in Japan is quite troublesome. It's getting better, though... slowly...

I think the reason for the serious lack of free Wi-Fi in Japan is that unlimited data plans are not that expensive compared to, say, the U.S. And if you're working at cafes and whatnot, then you can just get a Pocket Wi-Fi, which tends to be pretty fast, works almost everywhere, and costs about $30-50 a month. (Though if you're renting one as a traveler, I doubt you can get one for less than $100 a month).

*Sigh.*

At the very least, we might as well as learn these phrases, just in case:

Wi-Fi ありますか？
ワイファイ　あります　か？
Do you have Wi-Fi?
Literally: “Wi-Fi + have / there is + か？”

When you say Wi-Fi (ワイファイ) in Japanese, go easy on the "F" sound. The sound is actually somewhere between "Wi-Hi" and "Wi-Fi." Just barely touch your bottom lip with your top teeth.

Better yet, get a native Japanese speaker to say it for you and copy them!

I doubt a Japanese person would actually notice if you said "Wi-Fi," and they certainly wouldn't care. I just like trying to pronounce things like Japanese people. I've also heard that the "F" sound in ふ・フ can differ in Japan based on region. Most of my exposure to Japanese has been around the Tokyo area, so I can't say whether that's true or not. But people in Tokyo seem to be making that half-F, half-H sound.

Anyway...

If you just want the password, you can say:

Wi-Fi のパスワードは何ですか？
ワイファイ　の　パスワード　は　なん　です　か？
What is the Wi-Fi password?
Literally: “Wi-Fi + の + password + は + what + です + か？”

While you're at it, this is an extremely useful sentence pattern:

____ は何ですか？
____　は　なん　です　か？
What is ____ ?
Literally: "____ + は + what + です + か?"

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Finished!