by Tomoyuki Higuchi
How do you say “Are you okay?” in Japanese?
Today’s phrase is :
Are you okay?
大丈夫？
daijoubu*
If you want to ask politely, you can say :
大丈夫ですか？
daijoubu* desuka
*We do not clearly pronounce the vowels in the middle of a word. We pronounce “jou” like “jō”.
Pronunciation
- are you ＝ あなたは anatawa
- okay ＝ 大丈夫 daijoubu
You do not need to say “あなたは”. In everyday conversation, we do not usually say “あなたは”.
If someone asks you “大丈夫？” or “大丈夫ですか？”, then you answer :
大丈夫。
daijoubu
Or politely :
大丈夫です。
daijoubu desu
(casual)
大丈夫？
➔
大丈夫。
(polite)
大丈夫ですか？
➔
大丈夫です。
