Imagine you are trying to make a restaurant reservation over the phone. You initially request a reservation for Friday at 7 PM, but the restaurant is fully booked at that time. The conversation continues as you discuss alternative options and finally settle on a reservation for Saturday at 7 PM, providing your details to confirm the booking.
💬 したいです means "want to do" after the verb stem: 予約したいです = "I want to reserve." You can reuse it with other actions too, like 食べたいです for "I'd like to eat."
💬 〜したいです is a useful soft way to say what you want to do: 予約したいです, 変更したいです, キャンセルしたいです. In service situations it often comes across as "I'd like to..." rather than a blunt "I want to...".
💬 The ご makes 予約 more polite when talking to the customer: ご予約. You'll see the same pattern in service Japanese with words like ご名前 and ご希望.
🇯🇵 Staff use forms like ご予約 to sound respectful toward the customer. You usually don't need to speak that politely about your own reservation unless you're choosing especially formal wording.
💬 ですか turns a statement into a polite question: 満席ですか "Is it full?", 土曜日ですか "Is it Saturday?" In speech, the か may sound light, but it still marks it as a question.
💬 Japanese often puts the question word first: いつご予約ですか literally "when reservation is it?" You can swap in other question words the same way, like 何名様ですか and 何時ですか.
💬 With times, 時 is read differently depending on the number; here 7時 is (shichi-ji), not (nana-ji). A few others also change, like 4時 (yo-ji) and 9時 (ku-ji).
🇯🇵 This is standard polite language a restaurant worker would use with customers. You would understand it, but as a customer you normally answer it rather than ask it.
💬 人 for counting people has special readings with some numbers; 4人 is said (yo-nin), not a simple number-plus-人 pattern. You'll also hear 1人 (hitori) and 2人 (futari).
💬 申し訳 shows up mostly in the fixed apology 申し訳ありません. On its own it means something like "excuse" or "justification," but in real life you'll usually meet it as part of that set phrase.
💬 In 申し訳ありません, ありません literally means "there isn't," but the whole phrase works as a strong apology. Don't translate the pieces too literally here; learn it as one expression.
🇯🇵 At restaurants, 満席です often means there are no seats available right now, not necessarily that every chair is literally occupied for the whole night. It's the standard way to say they're full.
💬 空いていますか literally asks "is it open/free?" and is the natural way to ask about availability for a time or table. You can swap the thing before it, like 土曜日の夜は空いていますか.
💬 をお願いします is a very useful request pattern: put the thing you want before it, like お名前をお願いします or 確認をお願いします. It often sounds more natural than a direct command.
🇯🇵 This is a standard polite way for staff to ask for the name on the booking. In Japan, giving just your family name is usually enough unless they ask for more.
💬 承りました is a very polite service verb meaning "I have received/accepted that." You'll hear it from staff for reservations, orders, and requests, often where plain Japanese would just use 受けました or わかりました.
🇯🇵 This is customer-service language used by staff, not something customers normally say about themselves. If you hear it, it means your reservation or request has been formally accepted.
💬 Put の between two nouns and the first one describes the second: 窓側の席 is literally "the seat on the window side." You can reuse this pattern with things like 入口の近くの席 for "a seat near the entrance."
💬 可能 often shows up in service language to mean something is available or can be done, not just "possible" in an abstract way. So 予約可能 is "reservations available," and 変更は可能ですか is "Is a change possible?"
💬 〜ですか is a very common polite way to ask if something is the case: 可能ですか = "Is it possible?" You can swap in other words the same way, like 大丈夫ですか or 空いていますか.
💬 The ご here adds politeness to 用意, which means "preparation" or "arrangement." In customer service, ご用意 often means "prepare/provide for you," as in お席をご用意します.
💬 いたします is a more humble, more polite version of します. Staff often use it for their own actions: 確認いたします "I'll check," ご用意いたします "We'll arrange it."
🇯🇵 This is standard polite service language in restaurants, hotels, and shops. You usually wouldn't use いたします much in casual conversation with friends.
💬 ご用意いたします is a very polite way to say "we'll prepare/arrange it." Japanese often uses "prepare" where English might say "we have" or "we can arrange," especially for seats, menus, or options.
💬 お願いできますか is a soft, polite way to ask for something: literally more like "would it be possible to request...?" You can attach it to lots of nouns with を, like 確認をお願いできますか.
💬 Xをお願いできますか is a very useful service phrase for asking politely for something. Here お電話番号をお願いできますか means "May I have your phone number?" rather than "Can I request your phone number?"
🇯🇵 In Japan it's normal for a restaurant taking a reservation to ask for a phone number, especially for dinner, busy times, or larger groups. It's usually just for confirming or contacting you if needed.
💬 お待ちしております literally says "we are waiting," but in service Japanese it often means "we look forward to seeing you." The お〜しております shape is a common very polite pattern in staff speech.
💬 よろしく on its own doesn't literally mean "please"; it's more like "I'm counting on your goodwill" or "please treat this favorably." That's why it appears in lots of set phrases, especially よろしくお願いします.
💬 お願いします is built from お願い "request/favor" plus polite します, so it often means "please" rather than a literal "I request." You can use it after many nouns: 予約をお願いします, お水お願いします.
💬 よろしくお願いします is a set phrase whose meaning changes with context; here it works like a polite "thank you" or "I appreciate it." Don't try to translate each word literally every time — learn it as one chunk.
🇯🇵 This is one of the most common polite closings in Japanese and sounds natural at the end of a reservation call. It's warmer and more conventional than a direct translation like just saying ありがとう.
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