Survival Japanese - Basic Phrases for Communication

[imarafan]

I'm bookmarking this, I'm sure it will come handy at some point.

Hope you keep this updated, I would also love to see some phrases with more context, like saying "thanks for buff/ingreviving/healing me"... Something tells me "good job" will not cut it in those moments...

Eh, some Japanese is still better than no Japanese at all.

[KatsujinkenKik]

http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?t=194114

[DemonMike]

私のドラゴン淫具を使いますか？
Watashi no dragon ingu o tsukaimasuka?
Shall we go hunt the dragon?

Please don't use this!

[Spellbinder]

私のドラゴン淫具を使いますか？
Watashi no dragon ingu o tsukaimasuka?
Shall we go hunt the dragon?

In all seriousness, that's kinda gross.

[DemonMike]

In all seriousness, that's kinda gross.

The anti-dragon hunting lobbyists have arrived!

[Spellbinder]

The anti-dragon hunting lobbyists have arrived!

You do realize what you wrote right?

[DemonMike]

You do realize what you wrote right?

Shhh, just play the part of the lobbyist..

[zgnumu]

Great list Cavistus. As a (relatively) fluent speaker, it feels a bit inconsistent though, combining some formal language and some rather casual language, which to a Japanese person may seem a bit strange, so allow me to nitpick a few details:

Spoiler!

English: Thanks for helping / Good work (good to use after a boss fight or an emergency code)
-
Kanji: お疲れ様でした。
Hiragana: おつかれさまでした。
Romaji: otsukaresama deshita

This is formal use, largely used in places of work/business. Casual shortened versions can be used in casual online environments if you want to be less polite/uptight.
おつかれさま - otsukaresama (casual)
おつかれ - otsukare (casual, shortened)

English: I understand. Sorry.
-
Kanji：　分かります。　すみません。
Hiragana: わかります。　すみません。
Romaji: wakarimasu. sumimasen.

Although technically grammatically correct, people generally don't talk like this. Use of the past tense, particularly in a stand-alone phrase is more common:
分かりました。すみません。

Kanji: 　付いて来て下さい。
Hiragana:　ついてくてください。
Romaji: tsuite kute kudasai

Hiragana:　ついてくてください。
Romaji: tsuite kite kudasai
The pronunciation of the kanji varies:
来て - kite
来る - kuru

English: Thank you for the party!
-
Hiragana: PTありがとうございました！
Romaji: PT arigatou gozaimashita!

also super-formal. Casualified:
Hiragana: PTありがとう！
Romaji: PT arigatou!

Some other phrases you could add:

Spoiler!

English: I'm sorry, I don't know/understand.
Kanji：　すみません、分かりません。
Hiragana: すみません、わかりません。
Romaji:　sumimasen, wakarimasen.

English: Could you explain it in a way that is easy to understand?
(Formal) Kanji:　分かりやすい説明していただけますか?
(Formal) Hiragana: わかりやすいせつめいしていただけますか？
(Formal) Romaji: wakariyasui setsumeishiteitadakemasuka?
(Casual) Kanji: 分かりやすく説明してくれる？
(Casual) Hiragana: わかりやすくせつめいしてくれる？
(Casual) Romaji: wakariyasuku setsumeishitekureru?

For the next two, typing in hiragana would probably be better...
English: Could you please type （that again) in hiragana?
Kanji: 平仮名でお願いします。
Hiragana: ひらがなでおねがいします。
Romaji: hiragana de onegaishimasu.

English: I no good at reading kanji.
Kanji 漢字を読むのが上手でわありません。
Hiragana: かんじをよむのがじょうずでわありません。
Romaji: kanji wo yomuno ga jouzudewa arimasen.

私のドラゴン淫具を使いますか？
Watashi no dragon ingu o tsukaimasuka?
Shall we go hunt the dragon?

Please don't use this!

I'd post a more accurate translation, but it would violate PSOW ToS so... meh.

Additionally it'd prolly be easier to just say 僕は日本語を話さない　（ぼくはにほんごをはなさない） (I don't speak Japanese)

note: 僕 (ぼく , boku) is gendered as young male (sometimes used by boyish girls), but almost never adults (mature ones, anyways). You could replace it with the correct term (私, 俺, etc.) or take the easy/lazy route and remove it (making the referral to self implicit) and throw a sumimasen on the front for good measure:
Kanji: すみません、日本語を話せません。
Hiragana: すみません、にほんごをはなせません。
Romaji: sumimasen, nihongo wo hanasemasen.

edit:
話さない = I don't/won't speak _____.
vs.
話せない = I can't speak _____.

[Lintor]

note: 僕 (ぼく , boku) is gendered as young male (sometimes used by boyish girls), but almost never adults (mature ones, anyways). You could replace it with the correct term (私, 俺, etc.) or take the easy/lazy route and remove it (making the referral to self implicit) and throw a sumimasen on the front for good measure:
Kanji: すみません、日本語を話せません。
Hiragana: すみません、にほんごをはなせません。
Romaji: sumimasen, nihongo wo hanasemasen.

edit:
話さない = I don't/won't speak _____.
vs.
話せない = I can't speak _____.

Yeah... I've gotten yelled at a lot for that. Frankly, I would personally omit Watashi/boku wa, but I was trying to be through.
I use boku a lot, which isn't really that wrong for a video game, but I guess its too masculine for a female char most people play (atashi is femenine, but no one IRL actually uses that, so just use watashi). Theres no reason to stress being proper/adult on a video game.

I would also use gomen instead of sumimasen. No I don't need a lecture on why that would be less advised.

'don't' in English can mean either unable to or choose not to... I didn't think about that... my bad.

Quite frankly, if you play many online game, people don't talk much, I could get away with just saying yoro and otsu, in romanji.

[Coatl]

Wow, thank you!
I'll definitely be busying myself with this.
I don't want to seem antii-social to the japanese players. :c