Impress your sushi chef with Japanese words and phrases

A little Nihongo (Japanese) goes a long way

Want to get more mileage out of your sushi experience? If you dine at a sushi restaurant with a Japanese sushi chef or run by a Japanese manager, using a few choice Japanese words or phrases can go a LONG way to endearing yourself with the establishment, and may even garner you some free sushi and/or first taste of the sushi chef’s specials. So sit at the sushi bar one day and try these words and phrases, spelled as they are pronounced (click on the audio files at the end of the post to hear how they are pronounced):

Greeting:   depending on the time of day, say kon-nee-chee-wa (daytime), kon-ban-wa (evening/night)

If you’re eating sushi in the morning, there’s something wrong with you … Call the sushi chef, say Osushi-san.  You’re basically calling him “Mr. Honorable Sushi Chef” – this will go over nicely.

When making a sushi order, ask for it and follow by o-ne-gai-shi-mas or please.

When receiving the sushi from the chef, say ah-ri-ga-toh which means Thank You.

Etiquette Tip: take the sushi plate from the sushi chef with BOTH hands, not just one. A slight nod/bow of the head while receiving the sushi and saying thank you will be particularly impressive.

Right before beginning to eat , say “i-ta-da-ki-mas,” which is the Japanese equivalent of saying “bon appetit.”

If the chef asks how the sushi tastes, say “oishee” – it is delicious.

At the end of the meal, say “go-chi-so-sa-ma-desh-ta” accompanied by a pleased and satisfied look on your face. It literally means “it was a feast” and is sure to both impress the chef and make him very happy.

Click on the audio files for pronunciation: