How to Say ‘No, I'm fine.’ in Japanese
いいえ、大丈夫です。
iie daijoubu desu
[iie dye-joh-boo dess]
🇯🇵 In Japan: いいえ、大丈夫です is the soft, everyday way to decline an offer. It sounds much gentler than a flat "no." A simple 大丈夫です with a small wave of the hand works too.
Phrase Breakdown
いいえ、
iie
No,
A polite 'no'. Stretch the 'ii' for two beats, then add a clear 'e': 'ii-e'. Pause briefly at the comma.
いいえ、違います。
No, that's wrong.
Words in this phrase
いいえ
iie
[iie]
no
A negation or disagreement word.
いいえ、大丈夫です。
No, it's okay.
大丈夫です。
daijoubu desu
I'm fine / No thank you.
大丈夫 (daijōbu) means 'fine' or 'okay'. Here it politely declines an offer. Hold the long 'ō'. The final 'u' in です is nearly silent.
私は大丈夫です。
I'm okay.
Words in this phrase
大丈夫
daijoubu
[dye-joh-boo]
okay; no problem
Says the request is acceptable / there’s no issue.
はい、大丈夫です。職員室でお渡しします。
Yes, that’s fine. We’ll hand it to you in the staff room.
です
desu
[dess]
is; polite copula
A polite sentence ending used in formal conversation.
少し伺いたいです。
I would like to ask a little.
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