Practice real Japanese for Business Email — 10 lessons × 110 sentences with native audio, romaji, English translations and culture notes.
Sample conversation: Business Email in Japanese
A free preview of Lesson 1 — Japanese, romaji and English for every line. 10 lessons (110 sentences) with native audio inside.
Your senior colleague offers to teach you how to write a business email.
メールの書き方、教えましょうか。
Mēru no kakikata, oshiemashō ka.
Shall I teach you how to write a business email?
Your colleague says the email body should start with a greeting like 'Otsukaresama desu'.
まず、本文の最初は「お疲れさまです」で始めます。
Mazu, honbun no saisho wa "Otsukaresama desu" de hajimemasu.
First, start the body with 'Otsukaresama desu.'
Otsukaresama desu — the email opener — Inside the company, most emails open with 'Otsukaresama desu,' a warm phrase that loosely means 'thanks for your hard work.' It is the standard greeting between coworkers, even for someone you have never met in person. For people outside your company, you use 'Osewa ni natte orimasu' instead.
Your colleague says to write the recipient's name first, at the very top.
その前に、一番上に相手の名前を書きますよ。
Sono mae ni, ichiban ue ni aite no namae o kakimasu yo.
Before that, write the recipient's name at the very top.
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Business Email in Japanese — FAQ
What do you say for business email in Japanese?
Japanese Talk's Business Email (ビジネスメール) scene walks you through it line by line. For example, you'll learn: メールの書き方、教えましょうか。 (Mēru no kakikata, oshiemashō ka.) — "Shall I teach you how to write a business email?"; まず、本文の最初は「お疲れさまです」で始めます。 (Mazu, honbun no saisho wa "Otsukaresama desu" de hajimemasu.) — "First, start the body with 'Otsukaresama desu.'"; その前に、一番上に相手の名前を書きますよ。 (Sono mae ni, ichiban ue ni aite no namae o kakimasu yo.) — "Before that, write the recipient's name at the very top.". Every line comes with romaji, an English translation and native audio.
Which Japanese phrases will I learn in the business email scene?
Key phrases include メールの書き方、教えましょうか。 (Mēru no kakikata, oshiemashō ka.) — "Shall I teach you how to write a business email?". The full scene is 10 lessons of 110 sentences covering the whole situation from start to finish.
Is there any etiquette I should know for business email in Japan?
Yes — Otsukaresama desu — the email opener. Inside the company, most emails open with 'Otsukaresama desu,' a warm phrase that loosely means 'thanks for your hard work.' It is the standard greeting between coworkers, even for someone you have never met in person. For people outside your company, you use 'Osewa ni natte orimasu' instead. Japanese Talk adds a short culture note like this on the lines that need one.
Is the business email scene free?
Lesson 1 is free with a free account (no credit card), and the Greeting scene is completely free with no sign-up. Full Access (US$5/month) opens all 10 lessons of every scene.