How to Say ‘Tanaka-san, do you have a moment?’ in Japanese
田中さん、ちょっといいですか。
tanaka san chotto ii desu ka
[tah-nah-kah san choht-toh ee dess kah]
💬 Usage Tip: Starting with the person's name plus さん (san) and a comma is the natural way to address someone directly. Japanese rarely uses あなた "you" for this.
Phrase Breakdown
田中さん、
tanaka san
Mr./Ms. Tanaka
田中 (Tanaka) is a common surname. さん is a polite title like Mr./Ms. The final ん is a full beat: ta-na-ka-sa-n.
田中さん、おはようございます。
Good morning, Mr. Tanaka.
Words in this phrase
田中
tanaka
[tah-nah-kah]
Tanaka (name)
Part of the school name being stated clearly on the phone.
田中小学校です。
This is Tanaka Elementary School.
さん
san
[san]
Mr.; Ms.; polite suffix
A polite suffix added to a person's name or role.
お医者さんが来ました。
The doctor came.
ちょっといいですか。
chotto ii desu ka
do you have a moment?
A polite way to ask for someone's attention or time. Pause briefly at the small っ in ちょっと.
先生、ちょっといいですか。
Teacher, do you have a moment?
Words in this phrase
ちょっと
chotto
[choht-toh]
a little; a bit; (softener) kind of…
Very useful to soften complaints/requests: 「ちょっと大きい」 sounds less aggressive than “too loud.”
すみません、音楽がちょっと大きいです。
Excuse me, the music is a little loud.
いい
ii
[ee]
good; okay
Means “okay/allowed” in the permission expression.
ここに座ってもいい ですか。
May I sit here?
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.
か
ka
[kah]
question marker
Placed at the end of a sentence to make it a question.
A席はありますか。
Are there A seats available?
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