SAY · YOU
これを おねがいします。
Kore o onegai shimasu.
This one, please.
Shopping & Paying in Japan
You found it. Now comes the conversation.
Look, ask, choose, try, pay and leave. Shopping Japanese is less about delivering speeches and more about recognising the handful of questions standing between you and the thing you came to buy.
01 · LOOK
02 · ASK
03 · CHOOSE
04 · TRY
05 · PAY
06 · LEAVE
The capability
From “how much?” to “thank you.”
A Japanese shop can produce a surprising amount of language around a very small purchase. Fortunately, you do not need all of it. This lesson teaches the decision points: identify the item, ask about price, size or colour, try it, understand the cashier, choose how to pay, deal with the bag and receipt, and leave politely.
Scene voices: male = customer · female = shop staff.
How to read the lesson
Japanese script comes first. When useful kanji appears, READING gives the kana pronunciation. Romaji helps you say it, English confirms what it means, and the audio lets your ear meet the phrase before a real cashier does.
01 · SAY · YOU
The Japanese you can actually use.
Do not memorise these as one long shopping speech. Each phrase solves one small problem. That is the quiet superpower of beginner Japanese.
SAY · YOU
これは いくらですか。
Kore wa ikura desu ka.
How much is this?
SAY · YOU
これを 一つ おねがいします。
READINGこれを ひとつ おねがいします。
Kore o hitotsu onegai shimasu.
One of these, please.
SAY · YOU
ほかの サイズは ありますか。
Hoka no saizu wa arimasu ka.
Do you have another size?
SAY · YOU
ほかの 色は ありますか。
READINGほかの いろは ありますか。
Hoka no iro wa arimasu ka.
Do you have another colour?
SAY · YOU
試着しても いいですか。
READINGしちゃくしても いいですか。
Shichaku shite mo ii desu ka.
May I try it on?
SAY · YOU
はい、それで おねがいします。
Hai, sore de onegai shimasu.
Yes, that one, please.
SAY · YOU
カードで おねがいします。
Kādo de onegai shimasu.
By card, please.
SAY · YOU
現金で おねがいします。
READINGげんきんで おねがいします。
Genkin de onegai shimasu.
Cash, please.
SAY · YOU
袋は いりません。
READINGふくろは いりません。
Fukuro wa irimasen.
I don't need a bag.
SAY · YOU
レシートを おねがいします。
Reshīto o onegai shimasu.
A receipt, please.
SAY · YOU
ありがとうございます。
Arigatō gozaimasu.
Thank you very much.
02 · The item is almost right
Size, colour and trying it on.
ほかの means “another / other.” Add the thing you need: サイズ for size or 色（いろ） for colour. One small pattern suddenly becomes much more useful.
ほかのanother / other
サイズsize
色いろ · colour
試着（しちゃく）
Trying on clothing. 試着してもいいですか。 is literally asking whether trying it on is okay—a useful early encounter with the versatile 〜てもいいですか permission pattern.
03 · RECOGNISE · STAFF
What the shop may say back.
Service language is often more polite than the Japanese you need to produce. Listen for the useful anchors rather than trying to translate every syllable while holding a wallet, a bag and your remaining dignity.
RECOGNISE · STAFF
いらっしゃいませ。
Irasshaimase.
Welcome.
RECOGNISE · STAFF
こちらで よろしいですか。
Kochira de yoroshii desu ka.
Is this one all right?
RECOGNISE · STAFF
五百円です。
READINGごひゃくえんです。
Gohyaku-en desu.
It's 500 yen.
RECOGNISE · STAFF
こちらの サイズも あります。
Kochira no saizu mo arimasu.
We also have this size.
RECOGNISE · STAFF
試着室は こちらです。
READINGしちゃくしつは こちらです。
Shichakushitsu wa kochira desu.
The fitting room is this way.
RECOGNISE · STAFF
お支払いは 現金ですか、カードですか。
READINGおしはらいは げんきんですか、カードですか。
Oshiharai wa genkin desu ka, kādo desu ka.
Will you pay by cash or card?
RECOGNISE · STAFF
袋は ご利用ですか。
READINGふくろは ごりようですか。
Fukuro wa goriyō desu ka.
Would you like a bag?
RECOGNISE · STAFF
レシートは ご利用ですか。
READINGレシートは ごりようですか。
Reshīto wa goriyō desu ka.
Would you like a receipt?
RECOGNISE · STAFF
こちらに おねがいします。
Kochira ni onegai shimasu.
Here, please.
RECOGNISE · STAFF
ありがとうございました。
Arigatō gozaimashita.
Thank you very much.
04 · At the register
The purchase has one final obstacle: the cashier conversation.
Cashier wording varies by store, chain, payment system and situation. Your goal is not to memorise one supposedly universal script. Recognise the decision: cash or card? bag? receipt? Then answer simply.
Why not just say 大丈夫です?
大丈夫です can decline something in context, but its meaning depends heavily on the situation. For a beginner, 袋はいりません。 — “I don't need a bag” — is clearer and teaches exactly what you mean.
05 · A complete counter moment
Listen for decisions, not every word.
CUSTOMER · M
これを 一つ おねがいします。
READINGこれを ひとつ おねがいします。
One of these, please.
STAFF · F
こちらで よろしいですか。
Is this one all right?
CUSTOMER · M
はい、それで おねがいします。
Yes, that one, please.
STAFF · F
お支払いは 現金ですか、カードですか。
READINGおしはらいは げんきんですか、カードですか。
Will you pay by cash or card?
CUSTOMER · M
カードで おねがいします。
By card, please.
STAFF · F
袋は ご利用ですか。
READINGふくろは ごりようですか。
Would you like a bag?
CUSTOMER · M
袋は いりません。
READINGふくろは いりません。
I don't need a bag.
06 · Real Japan mission
Buy one ordinary thing.
Imagine entering a shop. Choose something visible. Ask the price. Ask for another size or colour if needed. Confirm the item. At the register, recognise the payment and bag questions. Finish with ありがとうございます。
Your success test
You succeed if the transaction moves forward without needing to understand the entire cashier script. Real communication is not a vocabulary exam with fluorescent lighting.
Replay the staff lines until you can recognise the decision they are asking you to make.
Back into the street
Ten minutes ago, you were only looking.
Now you have asked, chosen, paid and understood enough Japanese to complete the small human exchange around the purchase. The shopping bag is useful. The confidence travels considerably better.