Brilliant 100+ Business Vocabulary In Japanese To Stand Out

Business Vocabulary In Japanese - Ling App

One of the reasons why many people learn Japanese is new business opportunities. Becoming proficient in the Japanese language can open new doors in your career and make you like gold dust for companies that want to collaborate with the Japanese.

As learning a new language, especially an Asian language, is not a one-night thing; it takes time to become fluent in Japanese. But still, you can speed up the process by prioritizing learning business vocabulary in Japanese after mastering the basic vocabulary.

Now, start learning business Japanese and book yourself a position in the Japanese business world!

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Japanese Business Culture

To start with, let’s prepare you for the business culture in Japan so that you won’t go through a big culture shock when you enter a Japanese office environment. You’re expected to show the utmost respect to your colleagues and seniors, as it is what Japanese people value the most.

Co-Workers Are Bowing Respectfully

Respectful Bowing

As you know, bowing is a standard greeting in Japanese culture and is also practiced in the workplace. Here are the three variations of bowing:

  • 会釈 (Eshaku) – Bow with the upper body to 15 degrees. You can greet your colleagues this way.
  • 敬礼 (Keirei) – Bow with the upper body to 30 degrees. You can greet your clients this way and also express gratitude and apologies.
  • 最敬礼 (Saikeirei) – Bow with the upper body to 45 degrees. You can greet VIPs and seniors this way and also express profound apologies.

Exchanging Business Cards

Exchanging business cards, 名刺 (meishi), is another etiquette rule in business, and it’s only done when you meet someone from another company for the first time. Business cards are considered to be one’s face in Japan and thus must be treated politely.

Remember to offer and receive cards with both hands (using one hand is considered rude) and ensure that the other person can read the front surface of your card.

Honorific Language At The Office

Using the appropriate Japanese honorifics is considered good manners in Japan. In business settings, you may be judged as incompetent if you can’t use honorific language, 敬語 (Keigo), correctly. Here are the three different forms of honorific language in Japanese:

丁寧語 (Teineigo) – polite language

It’s used to express things politely in general.

  • To do – する (suru) -> します (shimasu)

尊敬語 (Sonkeigo) – respectful language

It’s used to talk about superior people, clients, and customers.

  • To do – する (suru) -> なさいます (nasaimasu)

謙譲語 (Kenjōgo) – humble language

It’s used to talk about oneself in a humble form.

  • To do – する (suru) -> いたします (itashimasu)
There Are Books And A Laptop On The Table

 

Office Supplies In Japanese

A good office worker must have a command of the items used at the office. So we’ve collected the essential office supplies in Japanese in the list below.

EnglishJapaneseRomajiPronunciation
Paperclipクリップkurippu クリップ
Envelope封筒fuutou 封筒
Postage stamp切手kitte 切手
Thumbtack画鋲gabyou 画鋲
Slidesスライドsuraido スライド
Calendarカレンダーkarendaー カレンダー
Tapeテープteーpu テープ
Messageメッセージmesseーji メッセージ
Fax machineファックス機fakkusu ki ファックス機
Photocopierコピー機kopiー ki コピー機
Telephone電話denwa 電話
Typewriterタイプライタtaipuraitā タイプライタ
Projectorプロジェクターpurojekuta プロジェクター
Computerコンピューターkonpyūtā コンピューター
Screen画面gamen 画面
Calculator電卓dentaku 電卓

 

Hierarchy In A Japanese Company

You must pay attention to hierarchy unless it is your own company, right? So here is an example of the hierarchy in a typical Japanese office.

  1. President/CEO – 社長 (しゃちょう)
  2. Vice president – 副社長 (ふくしゃちょう)
  3. Department manager – 部長 (ぶちょう)
  4. Section manager – 課長 (かちょう)
  5. Co-worker – 同僚 (どうりょう)
  6. Subordinate – 部下 (ぶか)
Job Interview

 

Must-Know Japanese Phrases To Nail Your Job Interview

In addition to your respectful attitude and confidence, Japanese business phrases can help you stand out in a job interview.

___と申します。(___ to mōshimasu.)

と申します

Meaning: My name is ___.

After greeting each other, the first thing you should do is introduce yourself. In a business setting, using kenjōgo language to refer to yourself gives the impression that you have good manners and are decent.

The phrase 申します (mōshimasu) is literally translated as “I say myself as ___” in a humble way.

どうぞよろしくお願いいたします。(Dōzo yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.)

どうぞよろしくお願いいたします

Meaning: I beg your kindness./It’s a pleasure to meet you.

It is a more polite version of “yoroshiku onegai shimasu,” but they have the same meaning, more or less. It would be best if you said this phrase after introducing yourself.

This is a handy phrase to use in any formal situation. You can express your gratitude and humbleness by saying this phrase, and it also means that you hope to have a good relationship from now on.

私の 強み/弱み は___です。(Watashi no tsuyomi/yowami wa ___ desu.)

私の 強み/弱み は___です

Meaning: My strength/weakness is ___.

強み (tsuyomi) means “strength,” and 弱み (yowami) means “weakness.”

Explain your strengths to let the interviewer know that you are an ideal candidate for the position. And it leaves a good impression if you explain your weaknesses and how you can improve yourself.

私は___の経験があります。(Watashi wa ___ no keiken ga arimasu.)

私は___の経験があります

Meaning: I have experience as ___.

経験 (keiken) means “experience.” You can use this phrase to talk about your related work experience to indicate that you are a competent candidate for the position.

いくつか質問してもいいですか。(Ikutsu ka shitsumon shite mo ii desu ka.)

いくつか質問してもいいですか

Meaning: Can I ask you some questions?

If there are some unclear points during the interview, you can use this phrase and let the interviewer know that you have questions in mind. This phrase is also very versatile; you can use it anytime.

The Applicant And Interviewer Are Handshaking

面接のお時間をいただき、どうもありがとうございました。(Mensetsu no o-jikan o itadaki, dōmo arigatō gozaimashita.)

面接のお時間をいただき、どうもありがとうございました

Meaning: Thank you very much for making time for the interview.

At the end of your interview, say this phrase with a smile and remember to bow politely before leaving the interview room.

 

Business Vocabulary In Japanese

Japanese business vocabulary includes many loan English words written as katakana words. So they are easy to learn. Here is the list of commonly used business vocabulary in Japanese.

EnglishJapaneseRomajiPronunciation
company会社kaisha 会社
office事務所jimusho 事務所
department部署busho 部署
meeting会議kaigi 会議
interview面接mensetsu 面接
job vacancy求人kyūjin 求人
salary給料kyūryō 給料
to work働くhataraku 働く
to report報告するhōkoku suru 報告する
to commute通勤するtsūkin suru 通勤する
boss上司jōshi 上司
document書類shorui 書類
client顧客kokyaku 顧客
customerお客様o-kyaku-sama お客様
customerカスタマーkasutama カスタマー
globalグローバルgurobbaru グローバル
achievement功績koseki 功績
business商売shobai 商売
business connection取引先torihikisaki 取引先
bankrupt倒産tosan 倒産
accounting会計kaikei 会計
business trip出張shucho 出張
collaborationタイアップtaiappu タイアップ
bank銀行ginko 銀行
absence from work欠勤kekin 欠勤
rush hour通勤ラッシュtsukinrsshu 通勤ラッシュ
enterprise company企業kigyo 企業
limited company有限会社yugen-gaisha 有限会社
public company株式会社kabushiki-gaisha 株式会社
well-established company大手企業ote-kigyo 大手企業
small-to-medium company中小企業chusho-kigyo 中小企業
creativeクリエイティブkurieiteibu クリエイティブ
deficit赤字akaji 赤字
commerce, trade商業shogyo 商業
crisis situation危機kiki 危機
development dept.開発部kaihatsu-bu 開発部
general affairs dept.総務部somu-bu 総務部
human resources dept.人事部jinji-bu 人事部
sales dept.営業部eigyo-bu 営業部
economics経済keizai 経済
import輸入yunyu 輸入
export輸出yushutsu 輸出
demand需要jyuyo 需要
global market地球市場chikyushijo 地球市場
finance金融kinyu 金融
income所得shotoku 所得
letter of resignation辞表jihyo 辞表
interview面接mensetsu 面接
meeting room会議室kaigishitsu 会議室
international国際的kokusaiteki 国際的
information知識chishiki 知識
negotiation交渉koshou 交渉
inflationインフレinfure インフレ
new product新製品shinseihin 新製品
original, creative独創的dokusoteki 独創的
paid leave有給休暇yukyukyuka 有給休暇
revision, alteration修正するshusei-suru 修正する
personal stamp判子hanko 判子
salary, wage給料kyuryo 給料
Project proposal企画書kikakusho 企画書
overtime残業zangyo 残業
pension年金nenkin 年金
sincerely yours (in letters)敬具keigu 敬具
surplus黒字kuroji 黒字
to give feedbackフィードバックするfidobaku-suru フィードバックする
unemployment失業shitsugyo 失業
userユーザーyuza ユーザー
supply供給kyokyu 供給
wealth gap貧困の差hinkon-no-sa 貧困の差
work procedure業務gyomu 業務
employee従業員jugyo 従業員
office clerk事務員jimu 事務員

Want to learn more than just business Japanese and make the Japanese language a part of your life? Then start using the Ling App right now!

 

Learn Japanese With Ling App!

If you want to learn Japanese, among the 60+ languages offered in the app, the Ling App is here for you!

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The Ling app provides tonnes of Japanese words and phrases you can learn at your own pace. Just grab your phone, tablet, or laptop right now and head to Google Play Store or Apple App Store to download it. Mini-games, puzzles, and AI chatbots to practice Japanese speaking skills are just some interactive activities inside the Ling App.

Many Japanese learners use Ling to improve their language skills, so why not join them? Download the Ling App, and get ready to speak Japanese soon!

Plus, don’t forget to visit our Japanese blog weekly to learn more about Japanese culture and language!

Until next time, じゃあまたね!

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