旅の日本語

Tabi no Nihongo
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The phrases that actually come up — ordering, paying, catching trains, sitting at a sushi counter, getting into a bath, asking for help. Half of them are things you'll hear said to you, which is the half most phrasebooks skip. Tap Listen to hear it from a native Japanese voice, or Show to throw the Japanese full-screen and point your phone at someone.

The silent u
desu sounds like "dess". -masu like "-mass".
Flat stress
Give every syllable equal weight. Not "a-ri-GA-to".
ō and ū
Hold the vowel twice as long: arigatō = "arigatoh".
R is soft
Between an English r, l and d. arigatō ≈ "aligatoh".

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