
Restaurant reservations: Setting preferences for seating, such as indoor, outdoor, or specific views.
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Key Phrases
予約したいです
yoyaku shi tai desu
I would like to make a reservation
どちらがよろしいですか
dochira ga yoroshii desu ka
Which would you prefer?
ご予約を承りました
go yoyaku o uketamawari mashi ta
Your reservation is confirmed
Skills You'll Learn
Making a reservation
予約をする
yoyaku o suru
Asking for preferences
希望を尋ねる
kibou o tazuneru
Confirming a reservation
予約を確認する
yoyaku o kakunin suru
Lesson Roleplay
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
This Friday, from 7 PM please.
何名様でしょうか?
nan mei sama deshou ka
How many people will it be for?
4人です。
4 nin desu
For 4 people.
Lesson Vocabulary & Phrases
すみません
sumi mase n
Excuse me
予約
yoyaku
Reservation
したい
shi tai
Want to do
💬 [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].
See breakdown →予約したいです
yoyaku shi tai desu
I'd like to make a reservation
💬 Japanese often says [verb + たいです] for "I'd like to ...": [予約したいです], [変更したいです]. It's a softer, more natural customer phrase than a blunt command.
See breakdown →いつ
itsu
When
の
no
Of
💬 [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.
See breakdown →ご予約
go yoyaku
Reservation (polite)
💬 The [ご] in [ご予約] makes the noun more polite. You'll hear this a lot in service situations: [予約] becomes [ご予約], [希望] can become [ご希望].
🇯🇵 Staff often use extra-polite forms like [ご予約] when speaking to customers. You can use plain [予約] yourself and still sound perfectly fine.
See breakdown →ですか
desu ka
Is it?
いつのご予約ですか
itsu no go yoyaku desu ka
For what date?
💬 [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."
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