How to Ask for Someone in Japanese

Video Transcript

YUU ASAKURA: I will give you a very very polite way to ask for a person either on a phone or you go to a meeting and ask for somebody. Let us ask for Mr. Smith, and in English it will be very simple, "May I speak to Mrs. Smith?" or "May I see Mrs. Smith?" or "Is there Mrs. Smith there?" and in Japanese you use the basic format of is there, [INDISCERNIBLE] and we have a miss Sumisu-san. San, we did it before right? Make the name very polite so "Sumisu-san wa?" You can use one of these; the first one is "Ira sshai masu ka?" and second one is "Orare masuka?" First one is more popular and it sounds like the word people greet to you when you walk in the restaurant "Ira sshai masu." "Ira sshai" means "to go or come" but we use it when people in a higher level do that. So you can use "Sumisu-san wa ira sshai masu ka?" or "Sumisu-san wa orare masuka?" Let us practice then you can memorize either one of them so that you do not have to think about it. Let us go with the first one "Sumisu-san wa ira sshai masu ka?" Very good. Use the second one "Sumisu-san wa orare masuka?" Very good.

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