Asking for Service and Indicating Preference

In this lesson you will learn how to interact with sales clerks in a Japanese store — asking them to show you merchandise, requesting items in different sizes, colors, or styles, and indicating your preferences. You will also learn the demonstrative adjectives kono, sono, and ano (“this,” “that,” “that over there”) used before nouns.

Dialogues (会話)

Situation 1 — Buying a sweater at a department store

Mrs. Schwartz finds a nice sweater in a showcase and asks to see it.

Romaji	English
Shuwaatsu: Sono seetaa o misete kudasai.	Please show me that sweater.
Tenin: Kore desu ka? Doozo.	This one? Here you are.
Shuwaatsu: Moo sukoshi ookii no wa arimasen ka?	Do you have any that are a little larger?
Tenin: Jaa, kore wa ikaga de gozaimasu ka? Kochira wa LL-saizu de gozaimasu.	Well, how about this one? It’s extra large.

Situation 2 — Window shopping in the Ginza

Ms. Robinson sees a nice blouse in a store window and enters the store.

Romaji	English
Tenin: Irasshaimase.	May I help you?
Robinson: Sumimasen. Are o misete kudasai.	Excuse me. Could you please show me that one?
Tenin: Kochira desu ka?	This one?
Robinson: Iie, sono ue desu.	No, the one above it.
Tenin: Hai, doozo.	Here you are.
Robinson: Moo sukoshi chigau iro no wa arimasu ka?	Do you have one in a slightly different color?
Tenin: Ainiku desu ga, kono katachi wa kono iro dake desu.	I’m sorry, but this style comes only in this color.

Situation 3 — Just browsing

A sales clerk approaches Mr. King as he browses.

Romaji	English
Tenin: Irasshaimase. Okyakusama no de gozaimasu ka?	Welcome! Are you looking for something for yourself?
Kingu: Chotto mite iru dake desu.	Just looking, thank you.

Key Vocabulary (語彙)

Dialogue Vocabulary

Romaji	English	Kana
seetaa	sweater	セーター
misete	show (te-form of misemasu)	みせて
sukoshi	a little	すこし
…no	…one (nominalizer)	の
ikaga	how? (polite)	いかが
saizu	size	サイズ
ue	above, top	うえ
chigau	different	ちがう
iro	color	いろ
ainiku desu ga	it’s unfortunate, but…	あいにくですが
katachi	form, style, model	かたち
dake	only	だけ
okyakusama	customer (polite)	おきゃくさま
mite iru	is/am looking	みている

Shopping Items

Romaji	English	Kana
sukaafu	scarf	スカーフ
shatsu	shirt	シャツ
akusesarii	accessory	アクセサリー
burausu	blouse	ブラウス
nekutai	necktie	ネクタイ

Descriptive Words

Romaji	English	Kana
ookii	large, big	おおきい
chiisai	small	ちいさい
yasui	cheap, inexpensive	やすい

Grammar & Usage Notes

Asking to See Merchandise: V(te-form) + kudasai

The pattern V(te-form) + kudasai means “Please do V (for me).” In this lesson, the key verb is misete (show):

• (Merchandise) o misete kudasai. — Please show me (merchandise).
• Sore o misete kudasai. — Please show me that.

The particle o is often dropped in casual conversation.

Indicating Preference with “moo sukoshi”

To ask for something a little different, place moo sukoshi (a little more) before a descriptive word:

Japanese	English
Moo sukoshi ookii no wa arimasen ka?	Do you have slightly larger ones?
Moo sukoshi chiisai no wa arimasen ka?	Do you have slightly smaller ones?
Moo sukoshi yasui no o misete kudasai.	Please show me slightly cheaper ones.

Asking for Different Variations with “chigau”

The word chigau (different) combines with attributes:

Japanese	English
Chigau iro no wa arimasu ka?	Do you have them in different colors?
Chigau saizu no wa arimasu ka?	Do you have them in different sizes?
Chigau katachi no o misete kudasai.	Please show me ones in a different style.

Demonstrative Adjectives: kono, sono, ano

These must be used before nouns (unlike kore, sore, are which stand alone):

Near speaker	Near listener	Away from both	Meaning
kore	sore	are	this/that (standalone)
kono…	sono…	ano…	this…/that… (before noun)
koko	soko	asoko	here/there (location)
kochira	sochira	achira	this way/that way (direction)

Indicating Position of Merchandise

When pointing out the exact item you want to a clerk:

Japanese	English
Sono ue (no) desu.	It’s the one above it.
Sono shita (no) desu.	It’s the one below it.
Sono migi (no) desu.	It’s the one to the right of it.
Sono hidari (no) desu.	It’s the one to the left of it.

Practice Exercises (練習)

A. Substitution Drill

Base: Sono seetaa o misete kudasai. (Please show me that sweater.)

Practice with: kono kamera, ano sukaafu, sono nekutai, kono shatsu

B. Substitution Drill

Base: Moo sukoshi ookii no wa arimasu ka? (Do you have slightly larger ones?)

Practice with: chiisai, chigau saizu, yasui, chigau iro, chigau katachi

C. Transformation Drill

Transform from a full noun phrase to using no (one):

Full form	Short form
Sono ookii seetaa o misete kudasai.	Sono ookii no o misete kudasai.
Moo sukoshi yasui shatsu o misete kudasai.	Moo sukoshi yasui no o misete kudasai.
Chiisai kamera o misete kudasai.	Chiisai no o misete kudasai.

D. Production Exercise

What do you say in these situations?

1. There is a nice necktie in a showcase near you → Kono nekutai o misete kudasai.
2. A camera behind the clerk looks like the one you want → Ano kamera o misete kudasai.
3. A small clock in a distant showcase interests you → Ano chiisai tokee o misete kudasai.
4. A sweater on the top shelf behind the clerk → Ano ue no seetaa o misete kudasai.

E. Scrambled Dialogues

Put these sentences in order:

1. A: Kochira desu ka? / B: Hai, irasshaimase. / C: Chotto sumimasen. Kono kamera o misete kudasai. / D: Ee.

Answer: B → C → A → D

Cultural Notes

Polite expressions used by sales clerks: Japanese clerks use very formal language with customers. Common phrases include:

• Irasshaimase — “Welcome! May I help you?” (said when you enter)
• Okyakusama no o osagashi de irasshaimasu ka? — “Are you looking for something for yourself?”
• …de gozaimasu — formal equivalent of desu (is/are)
• Ainiku de gozaimasu ga… — “Unfortunately…” (when the store doesn’t carry what you want)

Size conversion: Japanese clothing sizes differ from American, English, and Continental sizes. For men’s suits, the Japanese sizes S, M, L, and LL correspond roughly to American sizes 34–46. Women’s dress sizes run from Japanese 9–21 (roughly American 8–20). Always check conversion charts when shopping for clothing in Japan.