Placing an Order

In this lesson you will learn how to place an order at a Japanese restaurant — indicating you’re ready to order, requesting a certain number of servings, ordering drinks, and asking for more of something you’ve already ordered. You will also learn the counters for cylindrical objects (bottles) and servings.

Dialogues (会話)

Situation 1 — Ordering tempura and beer

Mr. Wilson and his friend go to a Japanese-style restaurant near the American Embassy.

Romaji	English
Uiruson: Sumimasen. Onegai shimasu.	Excuse me. I’d like to order, please.
Ueetoresu: Okimari desu ka?	Have you decided?
Uiruson: Ee, tenpura futatsu to biiru hitotsu onegai shimasu.	Yes, two servings of tempura and one beer, please.
Ueetoresu: Hai.	Certainly.
(Later)
Uiruson: Sumimasen. Biiru moo ip-pon onegai shimasu.	Excuse me. One more bottle of beer, please.
Ueetoresu: Hai, kashikomarimashita.	Certainly.

Situation 2 — Ordering sashimi and sukiyaki

Mr. Young is in a Japanese-style restaurant in the Ginza with two friends.

Romaji	English
Ueetoresu: Irasshaimase. Gochuumon wa?	May I help you? What would you like?
Yangu: Chotto matte kudasai.	Please wait a moment.
Ueetoresu: Hai.	Certainly.
(A few minutes later)
Yangu: Sumimasen. Onegai shimasu.	Excuse me. I’m ready to order.
Ueetoresu: Hai. Nan(i) ni itashimashoo ka?	All right. What will it be?
Yangu: Sashimi mittsu to sukiyaki san-nin-mae onegai shimasu.	Three servings of sashimi and three servings of sukiyaki, please.
Ueetoresu: Hai. Onomimono wa?	Certainly. And to drink?
Yangu: Osake ni-hon to koora ip-pon onegai shimasu.	Two sake and a cola, please.
Ueetoresu: Sumimasen. Koora wa gozaimasen ga…	I’m sorry, but we don’t have cola.
Yangu: A, soo desu ka. Ocha wa ikaga desu ka?	Oh, I see.
Ueetoresu: Ocha wa ikaga desu ka?	How about green tea?
Yangu: Jaa, ocha onegai shimasu.	Well then, green tea, please.

Situation 3 — Ordering steak and wine

Ms. Sanders and her friend go to a restaurant for dinner.

Romaji	English
Sandaasu: Suteeki futatsu onegai shimasu. Sarada wa arimasu ka?	Two steaks, please. Do you have salad?
Ueetoresu: Mikkusu-sarada to guriin-sarada ga gozaimasu.	We have mixed salad and green salad.
Sandaasu: Jaa, guriin-sarada futatsu.	Well then, two green salads, please.
Ueetoresu: Suteeki wa midiamu desu ka, rea desu ka?	Would you like your steaks medium or rare?
Sandaasu: Midiamu to rea desu.	One medium and one rare, please.
Ueetoresu: Onomimono wa ikaga desu ka?	How about something to drink?
Sandaasu: Wain wa arimasu ka?	Do you serve wine?
Ueetoresu: Aka to shiro ga gozaimasu.	Yes, we have red and white.
Sandaasu: Jaa, aka ip-pon onegai shimasu.	A bottle of red wine, please.

Key Vocabulary (語彙)

Ordering Expressions

Romaji	English	Kana
okimari desu ka	have you decided? (polite)	おきまりですか
gochuumon	(your) order (polite)	ごちゅうもん
matte	wait (te-form of machimasu)	まって
(o)nomimono	something to drink	（お）のみもの
onegai shimasu	please (request)	おねがいします

Food and Drink

Romaji	English	Kana
tenpura	tempura	てんぷら
sashimi	sashimi (raw fish)	さしみ
sukiyaki	sukiyaki	すきやき
suteeki	steak	ステーキ
sarada	salad	サラダ
mikkusu-sarada	mixed salad	ミックスサラダ
guriin-sarada	green salad	グリーンサラダ
biiru	beer	ビール
osake	sake (rice wine)	おさけ
koora	cola	コーラ
ocha	green tea	おちゃ
wain	wine	ワイン
aka	red	あか
shiro	white	しろ
midiamu	medium (steak)	ミディアム
rea	rare (steak)	レア
naifu	knife	ナイフ
fooku	fork	フォーク
dezaato	dessert	デザート

Grammar & Usage Notes

Indicating You’re Ready to Order

To call a waiter/waitress and signal you want to order:

Sumimasen. Onegai shimasu. — Excuse me. I’d like to order.

If you’re not ready yet:

Chotto matte kudasai. — Please wait a moment.

Counter for Bottles: …hon

The counter -hon is used for cylindrical objects like bottles:

Number	Romaji
1 bottle	ip-pon
2 bottles	ni-hon
3 bottles	san-bon
4 bottles	yon-hon
5 bottles	go-hon
6 bottles	rop-pon

Counter for Servings: …nin-mae

The counter -nin-mae is used for servings/portions of food:

Number	Romaji
1 serving	ichi-nin-mae
2 servings	ni-nin-mae
3 servings	san-nin-mae
4 servings	yo-nin-mae
5 servings	go-nin-mae
6 servings	roku-nin-mae

Using the General Counter …tsu

When you’re unsure of the correct counter, use the native Japanese numerals with -tsu:

Japanese	English
Biiru hitotsu onegai shimasu.	One beer, please.
Sashimi futatsu onegai shimasu.	Two sashimi, please.
Tenpura mittsu onegai shimasu.	Three tempura, please.

Ordering More

To order additional servings or drinks, add moo (more) before the number:

(Food/drink) moo + number + counter + onegai shimasu.

Japanese	English
Biiru moo ip-pon onegai shimasu.	One more bottle of beer, please.
Osake moo ni-hon onegai shimasu.	Two more bottles of sake, please.
Tenpura moo hitotsu onegai shimasu.	One more serving of tempura, please.

What the Waiter/Waitress Will Say

Japanese	English
Okimari desu ka? / Okimari ni narimashita ka?	Have you decided?
Gochuumon wa?	What’s your order?
Nani ni itashimashoo ka?	What shall I bring you?
Nani ni nasaimasu ka?	What would you like?
Onomimono wa? / Onomimono wa ikaga desu ka?	And to drink? / How about something to drink?
Kashikomarimashita.	Certainly. (formal acknowledgment)

Practice Exercises (練習)

A. Counter Practice

Combine each item with the correct counter and onegai shimasu:

Item + Quantity	Answer
sushi, 4 servings	Sushi yottsu (or yo-nin-mae) onegai shimasu.
biiru, 2 bottles	Biiru ni-hon onegai shimasu.
sake, 5 bottles	Osake go-hon onegai shimasu.
tenpura, 3 servings	Tenpura mittsu (or san-nin-mae) onegai shimasu.
koohii, 1	Koohii hitotsu onegai shimasu.

B. Combination Drill

Combine two items using to (and):

Items	Order
tenpura (3 servings), biiru (2 bottles)	Tenpura mittsu to biiru ni-hon onegai shimasu.
sashimi (2), osake (1 bottle)	Sashimi futatsu to osake ip-pon onegai shimasu.
suteeki (2), guriin-sarada (2)	Suteeki futatsu to guriin-sarada futatsu onegai shimasu.

C. Matching Drill

Match the Japanese te-form requests with their English meanings:

Japanese	English
Kaite kudasai.	Please write.
Matte kudasai.	Please wait.
Kite kudasai.	Please come.
Katte kudasai.	Please buy.
Itte kudasai.	Please say.
Misete kudasai.	Please show (me).

D. Role Play

Practice ordering with the instructor as waiter/waitress:

1. Two portions of sushi and two bottles of sake
2. Two servings of tempura and a bottle of beer
3. Sashimi and sake
4. Sukiyaki for three people and three bottles of beer
5. Three mixed sandwiches and three coffees
6. Two steaks (one medium, one rare) and two green salads
7. Two bottles of beer and three servings of tempura

E. Menu Reading

Using a coffee shop menu, find these items: milk, tomato juice, Coca-Cola, ham sandwich, chocolate cake, coffee. Then determine prices for cheese cake, tea, iced tea, and a vegetable sandwich.

Cultural Notes

Kanji to recognize at restaurants:

Kanji	Romaji	English
三人前	san-nin-mae	three servings
営業中	eigyoochuu	open for business
開店	kaiten	the opening of a shop
開場	kaijoo	doors open

Ordering etiquette: You can place an order with any waitress you see — it doesn’t have to be the one who first came to your table. To get attention, simply say Sumimasen in a clear voice. The expression onegai shimasu signals that you’re making a request and is the standard way to indicate you want to order.