Essential Japanese Business Phrases for Email and Meetings
Business Greetings
Language and culture are inseparable in Japanese. Understanding the cultural context behind words and phrases transforms your communication from technically correct to genuinely appropriate.
This section covers the fundamentals that every learner needs to understand. Take your time with these concepts β they form the foundation for everything that follows.
Email Phrases
This is a critical area that many learners underestimate. Understanding these patterns and concepts will significantly accelerate your progress and help you avoid common plateaus.
Focus on recognizing these elements in real Japanese content β news articles, manga, conversations, and social media. Active recognition in context is far more effective than passive memorization.
Meeting Expressions
This is a critical area that many learners underestimate. Understanding these patterns and concepts will significantly accelerate your progress and help you avoid common plateaus.
Focus on recognizing these elements in real Japanese content β news articles, manga, conversations, and social media. Active recognition in context is far more effective than passive memorization.
Phone Etiquette
This is a critical area that many learners underestimate. Understanding these patterns and concepts will significantly accelerate your progress and help you avoid common plateaus.
Focus on recognizing these elements in real Japanese content β news articles, manga, conversations, and social media. Active recognition in context is far more effective than passive memorization.
Business Self-Introduction
Japanese communication reflects core cultural values: respect for hierarchy, consideration for others' feelings, and careful attention to context. When you understand these values, language patterns that seemed arbitrary suddenly make perfect sense.
Immerse yourself in authentic Japanese media to observe how native speakers adjust their language across different social contexts. This builds cultural intuition far more effectively than memorizing rules from a textbook. Practice with JLPT Vocabulary to reinforce what you have learned.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need keigo for business Japanese? βΌ
Absolutely. Business Japanese requires polite language at minimum, and formal keigo for client-facing communication and emails.
How do Japanese business emails differ from English? βΌ
They follow a strict structure: greeting, seasonal phrase, self-identification, main content, closing phrase, signature. They are generally more formal.
What is meishi koukan? βΌ
Business card exchange (εεΊδΊ€ζ) is a formal ritual in Japan. You present your card with both hands, receive theirs respectfully, and never write on someone's card.
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