Japanese - Greetings Openings

Lesson 2 of 168

A warm Japanese welcome scene: a host says ようこそ。 (Yōkoso.) to a guest at a doorway — lesson about greetings and openings.

Goal: Welcomes, small talk, and how to give your name

Free Japanese lessons with guided practice, audio, and speaking support.

Welcome back — nice to see you! This short lesson practices friendly opening lines you'll use when arriving, meeting someone, or starting small talk. Listen, repeat, then try the short dialogue.

Level A1: You'll practice six useful opening phrases: ようこそ。(Yōkoso.) “Welcome,” 今日はいい天気ですね。(Kyō wa ii tenki desu ne.) “Nice weather today,” ___と呼んでください。(___ to yonde kudasai.) “Call me ___,” 英語を話せますか。(Eigo o hanasemasu ka.) “Do you speak English?,” 会えてうれしいです。(Aete ureshii desu.) “Good to see you,” and あなたはどうですか。(Anata wa dō desu ka.) “And you?”. This CEFR-aligned mini-lesson focuses on hearing and saying these lines in friendly openings.

After this lesson you'll be able to:

  • Hear and repeat six common opening phrases used when meeting people.
  • Use ようこそ。(Yōkoso.) and 会えてうれしいです。(Aete ureshii desu.) to welcome and greet politely.
  • Ask or reply to simple opening questions like 英語を話せますか。(Eigo o hanasemasu ka.) and あなたはどうですか。(Anata wa dō desu ka.).
  • Practice saying a name with the frame ___と呼んでください。(___ to yonde kudasai.).
Two people meeting outside on a sunny day in Japan, using 今日はいい天気ですね。 (Kyō wa ii tenki desu ne.) to start small talk.

Ready? Let's go!

When you tap play on phrases, we track your progress through this lesson.

1. Reading + Listening Practice

Hear core phrases, repeat aloud.

ようこそ

Yōkoso.

Welcome.

Meaning: Welcome.

When to use: Use when you greet someone arriving at your home, an event, or a place you host. In shops, staff usually say 「いらっしゃいませ」 instead.

Tip: Don't use ようこそ。 for store greetings — shop staff say いらっしゃいませ instead.

友達が来たときに「ようこそ、うちへ。」と言います。

Tomodachi ga kita toki ni "Yōkoso, uchi e." to iimasu.

Say "Welcome to my home" when a friend arrives.
イベントで司会が「皆さん、ようこそ。」と話します。

Ibento de shikai ga "Minasan, yōkoso." to hanashimasu.

A host may say "Welcome, everyone" at an event.

今日はいい天気ですね。

Kyō wa ii tenki desu ne.

Nice weather today.

Meaning: Nice weather today.

When to use: A neutral, friendly line to start small talk about the weather. It's polite and common at the beginning of a conversation.

待ち合わせで会って、まず「今日はいい天気ですね。」と言います。

Machiawase de atte, mazu "Kyō wa ii tenki desu ne." to iimasu.

When you meet up, you might first say "Nice weather today."
散歩中の会話で「今日はいい天気ですね。」と話しかけます。

Sanpo-chū no kaiwa de "Kyō wa ii tenki desu ne." to hanashikakemasu.

You can start a chat on a walk with "Nice weather today."

___と呼んでください。

___ to yonde kudasai.

Call me ___.

Meaning: Call me ___.

When to use: Use this frame to tell someone how you prefer to be called. Put your name or nickname in the blank (e.g., マイクと呼んでください。).

自己紹介のあとで「マイクと呼んでください。」と言います。

Jikoshōkai no ato de "Maiku to yonde kudasai." to iimasu.

After introducing yourself, say "Call me Mike."
親しい場では「ケイと呼んでください。」と軽く伝えます。

Shitashii ba de wa "Kei to yonde kudasai." to karuku tsutaemasu.

In a casual setting you might say "Call me Kei."

英語を話せますか。

Eigo o hanasemasu ka.

Do you speak English?

Meaning: Do you speak English?

When to use: Ask this when you want to know whether you can switch to English. It's a basic, polite way to check language ability.

道を聞きたいときに「英語を話せますか。」と尋ねます。

Michi o kikitai toki ni "Eigo o hanasemasu ka." to tazunemasu.

Ask "Do you speak English?" when you need directions.
電話で対応を確認するときに「英語を話せますか。」と言います。

Denwa de taiō o kakunin suru toki ni "Eigo o hanasemasu ka." to iimasu.

Say "Do you speak English?" on the phone to check support.

会えてうれしいです。

Aete ureshii desu.

Good to see you.

Meaning: Good to see you.

When to use: Use to express pleasure at meeting someone. For first meetings, the more formal お会いできてうれしいです is also common.

久しぶりに会った友達に「会えてうれしいです。」と言います。

Hisashiburi ni atta tomodachi ni "Aete ureshii desu." to iimasu.

Say "Good to see you" to a friend you haven't seen in a while.
仕事のミーティングで会った相手に「会えてうれしいです。」と挨拶します。

Shigoto no mītingu de atta aite ni "Aete ureshii desu." to aisatsu shimasu.

Greet a meeting contact with "Nice to meet you."

あなたはどうですか。

Anata wa dō desu ka.

And you?

Meaning: And you?

When to use: Use to return a question in an opening exchange (for example after someone asks about you). In real conversations, speakers often use the person's name＋さん instead of あなた.

Tip: Beginners overuse あなた; it's more natural to use the person's name＋さん when possible.

A: 私はアメリカからです。B: あなたはどうですか。と返します。

A: Watashi wa Amerika kara desu. B: "Anata wa dō desu ka." to kaeshimasu.

A: I'm from the U.S. B: "And you?"
仕事の自己紹介で相手の状況を聞き返すとき「あなたはどうですか。」を使います。

Shigoto no jikoshōkai de aite no jōkyō o kikikaesu toki "Anata wa dō desu ka." o tsukaimasu.

Use "And you?" to return a question during introductions.

2. Conversational Listening Practice

Hear phrases in a real mini-conversation.

Anna welcomes David to her home and they exchange small talk and names.

Anna and David greeting each other at a front door: Anna says ようこそ。 and David replies with a name and a question about English.

What did David ask Anna about?

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

ようこそ

Yōkoso.

Welcome.

Portrait of David in a Japanese lesson dialogue

David

今日はいい天気ですね。

Kyō wa ii tenki desu ne.

Nice weather today.

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

会えてうれしいです。

Aete ureshii desu.

Good to see you.

Portrait of David in a Japanese lesson dialogue

David

英語を話せますか。

Eigo o hanasemasu ka.

Do you speak English?

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

はい、少し話せます。あなたはどうですか。

Hai, sukoshi hanasemasu. Anata wa dō desu ka.

Yes, a little. And you?

Portrait of David in a Japanese lesson dialogue

David

デイビッドと呼んでください。

Deibitto to yonde kudasai.

Call me David.

3. Guided Practice

Quizzes and matching to lock in meaning.

How do you say 'Welcome.' in this lesson?

Which phrase starts small talk about the weather?

How do you ask 'Do you speak English?'

Which phrase tells someone what to call you?

When you arrive at the hotel front desk, you might say 'Welcome.'

ホテルのフロントに着いたら、スタッフに「___。」と言います。

After saying you can speak English, you return the question with 'And you?'

自己紹介の後に、自分のことを聞かれて「私は英語が話せます。___」と返します。

In a new class, end your introduction with 'Call me Mike.' to show how to address you.

新しいクラスで、自己紹介の最後に「___。」と言って呼び方を教えます。

Match the core phrases

Match the extra phrases

4. Speaking Practice

Say phrases yourself (mic/recording).

Recording stays on your device only. Check speech uses your browser's speech tools when available.

Say this phrase out loud:

ようこそ

Yōkoso.

Welcome.

Say this phrase out loud:

今日はいい天気ですね。

Kyō wa ii tenki desu ne.

Nice weather today.

Say this phrase out loud:

___と呼んでください。

___ to yonde kudasai.

Call me ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

英語を話せますか。

Eigo o hanasemasu ka.

Do you speak English?

Say this phrase out loud:

会えてうれしいです。

Aete ureshii desu.

Good to see you.

Say this phrase out loud:

あなたはどうですか。

Anata wa dō desu ka.

And you?