Don’t be sad even if Japanese people don’t reply to “May I help you?”

Today’s topic is “May I help you?” If you have worked in a shop, you might have experience that Japanese people don’t say anything even when you say “May I help you?” to them. This is because Japanese people learn this as a translation of “Irasshaimase(いらっしゃいませ)” and they don’t answer to it usually. I’d like you to understand why Japanese learn so.

If you have been to Japan before, you must have heard a phrase “Irasshaimase(いらっしゃいませ)” when you enter a shop, restaurant, or even convenience store. It’s quite natural for Japanese people to hear the phrase. Also, Japanese people never reply to the phrase and just hear it.

In other countries, we may not hear this kind of phrase and what we hear is “May I help you?” when clerks help customers. We don’t have any exact English phrase which can be replaced by “Irasshaimase(いらっしゃいませ)” if we think of context and frequency to use. Sometimes Japanese students do skit when they learn the expressions in shops or restaurants, and teachers want something instead of “Irasshaimase(いらっしゃいませ)” in English. That’s why Japanese people learn “May I help you?” as “Irasshaimase(いらっしゃいませ)” in Japanese school.

It’s better to be translated into “Welcome.” or “Hi, how’s going.” These have closer meanings to “Irasshaimase(いらっしゃいませ).”

For these reasons, please don’t be sad even if Japanese people say nothing when you say “May I help you?”

The next topic on Wednesday is the postpositional particle, one of the most important Japanese grammars which English doesn’t have. I hope you enjoy learning Japanese with us.