7 Japanese words and phrases with No English Translations

Can you speak Japanese?
In this article, you can find some "interesting" Japanese vocaublary that might be useful if you are learning Japanese!

1. しょうがない (shouganai)

This is one of my favorite words. We use it when something cannot be helped. So, when you are in a difficult situation and there is no solution and you just need to give up on it, and to move on. I think this word helps you taking things easy, which is quite an important thing in everyone’s life.

2. いただきます (Itadakimasu)

You might have heard of this one. We use this word before start eating. It has a meaning close to the French phrase "bon appetit".

3. がんばれ (Ganbare)

We use this word when we support someone. It has a meaning of “Do your best + Good luck”. Sometimes, we also use the word “ファイト!“（faito) instead of it.

4. 恋の予感 (koi no yokan)

We use this word, when you meet a person and you feel that you will be falling in love with him/her. It is a very romantic word. We don’t use it quite often, but some times we see this phrase in “shōjo manga”.

5. わびさび (wabi-sabi)

This word is use to disicribe a way of life focused on finding beauty within life's imperfections and calmly accepting the natural cycle of growth and decline. It is a very philosophical word.

6. お世話になります or お世話になっております　(osewa ni narimasu or osewa ni natte orimasu)

We use this phrase especially on business scenes. Actually, most of all business emails starts with this phrase. I really don’t know how to be translated so I searched it on internet and it seems that the most accurate translation would be: "I appreciate everything you have done". Yet, I'm not very convinced with this translation.

7. よろしくお願いします　（yoroshiku onegai shimasu）

We use it in many cases and this phrase has different meaning depending on the scene.
For example:

• when we introduce ourselves, we use this phrase at the end of our introductions. In this case, it has a meaning close to “nice to meet you”.

• if we use it at the end of a meeting, it has a meaning close to: “Let’s keep in touch” or “I count on you”
• if we use it at the end of an email, it’s meaning is close to: “best regards”.