Imagine calling a restaurant in Japan to make a reservation for dinner. You want to reserve a table for four people this Friday at 7 PM. You discuss seating preferences such as a window seat with an ocean view and choose between indoors and an outdoor terrace depending on the weather. You provide your name for the reservation and receive confirmation of the booking.
すみません、予約したいのですが。
sumi mase n yoyaku shi tai no desu ga
Excuse me, I would like to make a reservation.
はい、いつのご予約ですか？
hai itsu no go yoyaku desu ka
Yes, for when would you like the reservation?
今週の金曜日、午後7時からお願いします。
konshuu no kinyoubi gogo 7 ji kara o negai shi masu
💬 したい attaches to the verb stem to say you want to do something: 予約したい = want to reserve, 座りたい = want to sit. In polite speech it's often followed by です, as in したいです.
💬 の between nouns lets the first one describe the second. Here いつのご予約 is literally "which-time reservation," meaning the reservation for what date or time.
💬 いつ means "when," but with の it can narrow down a noun: いつのご予約 = reservation for when. The whole pattern is useful with other nouns too, like いつの電車 "which train / the train for when."
💬 Put の between two time words to make a more specific one: 今週の金曜日 = this week's Friday, meaning this Friday. The same pattern works in 来週の月曜日 and 今日の夜.
💬 名 is a polite counter for people, and 様 makes it even more respectful, so 何名様 is the standard customer-service way to ask party size. In casual speech you'd more often hear 何人.
🇯🇵 This is a very typical restaurant or hotel phrase from staff to customers. You usually wouldn't use 何名様 about yourself; you'd answer with something simple like 4人です.
💬 This phrase uses the very polite customer-service pattern noun + でしょうか to ask gently. The key reusable chunk is 何名様 for "how many people" in reservations and check-ins.
🇯🇵 かしこまりました is very formal service language meaning "certainly" or "understood." Staff say it to customers; learners usually don't need to say it back.
💬 ありますか asks whether something exists or whether you have it: 希望はありますか = do you have a preference? This pattern is very common with topics marked by は, like アレルギーはありますか.
💬 X はありますか is a very common way to ask whether someone has a preference, request, or item. Here お席の希望はありますか is literally "as for seating preferences, do you have any?"
💬 Put の between two nouns and the first describes the second: 屋内の席 = indoor seating. You can reuse this pattern with preferences like 窓際の席 for a window seat.
💬 よければ comes from いい becoming よい before this ending, so 天気がよければ means if the weather is good. You'll see the same shape in polite offers like よければ、こちらへどうぞ.
💬 This sounds a bit unnatural in Japanese; a forecast is more often phrased as 天気がいい予報 or いい天気の予報 in context. Useful takeaway: 予報 often follows what is being forecast, as in 雨の予報です.
🇯🇵 The お makes this more polite, so staff often say お名前 instead of just 名前 when asking customers. In restaurants, this is standard courteous language, not especially stiff.
💬 ～ていただけますか is a very polite way to ask someone to do something: here, 教えて + いただけますか becomes "could you tell me?" You can swap in other actions, like 確認していただけますか.
🇯🇵 This is customer-service polite and very common in restaurants, hotels, and clinics. It sounds respectful without being overly formal.
💬 承りました is a humble, service-industry way to say "received" or "understood," not just literally received an object. You'll hear it for reservations, orders, and requests.
💬 承りました is a set phrase staff use to mean they have taken or confirmed something. So ご予約を承りました means your reservation has been accepted, not that someone simply "received a booking."
🇯🇵 This is standard staff language in Japan and sounds more polished than plain 受けました or わかりました. As a customer, you would usually hear it rather than say it.
💬 ～ております is a more polite version of ～ています, so お待ちしております is a polished way to say "we are waiting" or "we look forward to seeing you." You'll hear this often in business and customer-service speech.
🇯🇵 At the end of a reservation call, this is a very normal closing from staff. It sounds warm and professional, not literal in the sense of someone physically waiting right now.
💬 In ありがとうございます, ございます adds politeness rather than a separate clear word like "very much." You'll hear the whole phrase as a set expression much more often than ございます by itself.
💬 ありがとう becomes more polite with ございます, giving ありがとうございます. A common pronunciation point: は is pronounced (wa) in こんにちは, but here ございます is said as written, with ざ.
💬 よろしく often doesn't translate neatly; in phrases like よろしくお願いします, it means something like "please treat this favorably" or "thanks in advance." It's used in many situations where English would use different phrases.
💬 よろしくお願いします doesn't map to one fixed English phrase; depending on the situation it can mean "please," "thank you in advance," or "I appreciate it." In reservation situations, it's a natural polite way to close your request.
🇯🇵 Customers say this all the time when making requests, and it sounds natural and courteous. It's less a literal sentence than a social smoothener that helps interactions feel cooperative.
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