Hi there! I have been learning Japanese at my university in the United States for three years, but there are still some practical language skills I haven’t mastered yet. For one, are there any practical phrases to express that you didn’t hear someone the first time or that you just couldn’t hear them? I know some of the basic one but I didn’t know if there was a more casual and natural way to say something like that.
For example in English I would say “wait sorry I didn’t hear you could you say that again?” Or “wait what did you say — sorry?”
Are there any phrases in Japanese like this that a native speaker would say?
— Previous article
Nagoya-style Unagi and its Liver
Next article —
What are the best black friday deals in japan this and the upcoming week?
You May Also Like
I love yuzu so much but outside of japan it’s hard to find
I love yuzu so much but outside of japan it’s hard to find
Policeman riding bicycle?
If I’m hot mistaken there’s a specific word (maybe slang?) in japanese for that, any clue? by masa0922
みんなの日本語L21-5：こんにちは。I am Japanese. To study English, I am teaching Japanese in English. Write your sentences with “Plain style, なAdjective＋とおもいます。”. I will check your sentences for JLPT N5 Beginner and Intermediate learners.
**①Improvement of Writing and Speaking** こんにちは。I am Japanese. To study English, I am teaching Japanese in English. In…
8 comments
I am not a native speaker, but my teacher in university is. She taught us to say すみません、もいちどおねがいします。sumimasen, moichido onegaishimasu. Which basically means sorry can you repeat that again and the direct translation is sorry, one more time please.
I am Japanese netive speaker, English is not good.
I would say in that case, “Could you say that again?(もう一回言ってくれませんか？)” I would say.
I think I am polite and communicative even in your way of communicating.
Thanks DeepL.
Be careful with the intonation because it could be rude… but the common thing is just to say はい？
え？ is the japanese version of “huh?” as a native speaker commented, もう一回言ってくれませんか？ “could you say that again?” is quite politely casual and gets your point across. off the top of my head, you could say something like 聞き取れなかったんで、もう一回言ってくれませんか？, although a bit wordy it’s something like “i couldn’t catch that, could you say it again?”
Everyone is telling you the もう一度 shit that you already know, but real thing you’re needing is 聞き取る/kikitoru – used as “to catch”
聞き取れなかった= I couldn’t catch that, insinuating noise or something rather than a lack of comprehension and is perfect for just wanting a quick repeat of the same thing without necessarily a dumbing down or alternative explanation required.
You already know the usual phrases for asking people to repeat shit, this is far more useful for real world everyday stuff.
It’s used everywhere, but especially common on shitty zoom calls or the phone or whatever.
Learn it. Love it.
In addition to all the formal ways already explained: If you’re speaking casually with someone, you could just say なんて？ It’s very casual though and shouldn’t be used with strangers.
I’m at basic level in class but we use もういちどいってください
えーーーーわかんないよーーーーーーー 👉👈