Travel: Good and Bad Japanese Table Manners

You can watch Risa teaching you good and bad table manners and how to use chopsticks appropriately on the youtube here and here. In this article, we list all conversations in written forms. So, you can practice them repeatedly or you can copy the phrases from here and paste them to japandict.com or a Japanese language-learning tool for further study.

How to Eat a Typical Japanese Meal at Home

Video 1.  How to Eat a Typical Japanese Meal at Home (YouTube link)

• Go ahead and eat
• さあ、どうぞ。 たべて。  / Sā, dōzo. Tabete
• Thank you for the food
• いただきます 。/ Itadakimasu
• The miso soup is really good
• みそしる、おいしいです。/ Misoshiru, oishīdesu
• Good to hear
• よかつた / Yokatta
• One soup and three dishes
• 一汁三菜 / ichijiru sansai

How to Use Chopsticks

Video 2.  How to use Chopsticks (YouTube link)

• Mom: Ben, you are using chopsticks very well
• ベンは、おはしがじょうずですね。 / Ben wa, hashi ga jōzudesu ne
• Ben: Thank you
• ありがとう ございまし。/ Arigatō gozaimashi
• Ben: This chopstick rest is beautiful, isn't it?
• このはしおき、きれい ですね。/ Kono hashi-oki, kireidesu ne
• Mom: Thank you
• ありがとう/ Arigatō
• Mom: Taichi, don't do that!
• たいち、だめ。/ Ta ichi, dame
• Mom: That's "Yosebashi."
• それは、よせばし。/ Sore wa, yoseba shi
• Mom: It's bad manners
• わるいマナーですよ。/ Warui manādesu yo
• Bad Chopstick Holding #1 - Grasping
• にぎりばし / Nigiribashi
• Bad Chopstick Holding #2 - Crossing
• ばってんばし / Battenbashi
• Bad Chopstick Manners #3 (watch the video)
• 合せ箸 / あわせばし / Awaseb shi
• Bad Chopstick Manners #4 (watch the video)
• たてばし / Tatebashi

References

1. How to Eat a Typical Japanese Meal at Home
2. How to use Chopsticks
3. An Introduction to Japanese Chopstick Etiquette