Mr. Tamura is at an academic conference in the US. During a 10-minute break between presentations, people are standing and talking casually. Mr. Tamura notices a woman nearby speaking Japanese on her cell phone. He is not sure, but he is curious and decides to speak to her politely.
A: すみません。…にほんじんですか。
B: はい、そうです。
A: たむらです。はじめまして。
B: こんどうです。はじめまして。

Vocabulary

1. にほんじん にっぽんじん Japanese person/people [nationality]

Additional Vocabulary

1. アメリカじん American [person/people]
2. フランスじん French [person/people]
3. ドイツじん German [person/people]
4. イギリスじん British [person/people]
5. ロシアじん Russian [person/people]
6. メキシコじん Mexican [person/people]
7. ちゅうごくじん Chinese [person/people]
8. かんこくじん Korean [person/people]

Translation

A: Excuse me. Are you a Japanese?
B: Yes, I am. (Lit. "That's right.")
A: I'm Tamura. How do you do?
B: I'm Kondo. How do you do?

Cultural Notes

1.

にほんじんですか

In Japanese culture, starting a conversation by directly asking for someone's nationality can feel overly blunt or intrusive. To remain polite, speakers often approach the topic with visible hesitation or use indirect phrasing to soften the inquiry.
2.

Japanese say their family name first followed by their given name (e.g., "Ono Yoko"). Commonly, there is no middle name. When they give their name to Westerners, they usually follow the English pattern: given name + family name (e.g., "Yoko Ono").
3.

Although there are exceptions, women's names are more likely to have two to three syllables while men's names are more likely to have three to four syllables. Traditional women's names end with こ at the end, but there are many names that don't follow this pattern.
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