Japanese Shopping Dialogues: Reading Practice for Beginners

Shopping Conversations in Japanese

Shopping is one of the first real-world situations Japanese learners encounter. These short dialogues cover the essential phrases: asking prices, requesting items, and paying.

Dialogue 1: At a Convenience Store

てんいん： いらっしゃいませ。
(Irasshaimase.) — Welcome!

きゃく： すみません、このおにぎりは いくらですか。
(Sumimasen, kono onigiri wa ikura desu ka.) — Excuse me, how much is this rice ball?

てんいん： ひゃくごじゅうえんです。
(Hyaku gojuu en desu.) — It’s 150 yen.

きゃく： じゃあ、これをふたつください。
(Jaa, kore wo futatsu kudasai.) — Then, two of these please.

てんいん： さんびゃくえんになります。
(Sanbyaku en ni narimasu.) — That will be 300 yen.

Dialogue 2: Asking for a Size

きゃく： このTシャツの Mサイズは ありますか。
(Kono T-shatsu no M saizu wa arimasu ka.) — Do you have this T-shirt in size M?

てんいん： すこし おまちください。しらべます。
(Sukoshi omachi kudasai. Shirabemasu.) — Please wait a moment. I’ll check.

てんいん： もうしわけございません。Mサイズは きれてしまいました。
(Moushiwake gozaimasen. M saizu wa kirete shimaimashita.) — I’m very sorry. The M size is sold out.

Key Shopping Vocabulary

Numbers for Prices (Quick Review)

Reading Comprehension Questions

1. How much does one onigiri cost in Dialogue 1?
2. What size did the customer ask for in Dialogue 2?
3. Why couldn’t the staff help with the size request?

Answers: 1. 150 yen. / 2. Size M. / 3. It was sold out (きれてしまいました).

Yuka & Rei Navigate a Shop Dialogue

Reading and listening get better when you also reflect and discuss. Here is how Yuka and Rei unpack the key ideas from this topic — notice the questions Yuka asks, because they’re probably the same ones you had.

Yuka

Rei, in the shopping text I read てんいんさんがいらっしゃいませといいました. Is いらっしゃいます always used by shop staff?

Rei

Yes — いらっしゃいませ is the standard welcome shout in any Japanese retail space. You don’t respond. In the reading text, noticing WHO says it (staff) and WHO doesn’t respond (customer) tells you a lot about the situation.

Yuka

What clues in a reading text tell me the formality level of the shopping dialogue?

Rei

Look for ます/です endings (formal), plain form (casual), and specific phrases: おいくらですか (polite ‘how much’) vs いくら？ (casual). In reading practice, tracking these signals trains you to guess context from text alone.

5 Practice Sentences — Read These Aloud

These sentences use core vocabulary from this article. Read each one aloud at least three times to lock in the sound pattern.

1. このシャツはいくらですか？
   How much is this shirt?
2. ちょっとまけてもらえますか？
   Could you give me a small discount?
3. カードではらえますか？
   Can I pay by card?
4. べつのいろはありますか？
   Do you have this in another colour?
5. ふくろはいりません。そのままください。
   I don’t need a bag. Just as it is, please.

Your Turn! Leave Your Answer in the Comments

Reading and listening improve fastest when you also produce. Try writing 2–3 sentences summarising what you read, or create your own short text on the same topic using vocabulary from this article.

Post it in the comments — other learners will read it and it helps everyone. Log in to save your comment history and join the Top Commenters ranking in the sidebar!

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