Japanese Lesson 37 – Simple Directions · N5

📋 Expression Reference — Simple Directions

Key phrases across formality levels. Press ▶ to hear any expression.

FORMAL — けいご (KEIGO)

Expression	Romaji	Typical Response	Context
みぎにまがってください。	Migi ni magatte kudasai.	わかりました。ありがとうございます。 Wakarimashita. Arigatou gozaimasu.	Politely telling someone to turn right
まっすぐいってください。	Massugu itte kudasai.	どのくらいですか？ Dono kurai desu ka?	Telling someone to go straight ahead
すみません、えきはどちらですか？	Sumimasen, eki wa dochira desu ka?	つぎのしんごうをみぎにまがってください。 Tsugi no shingou wo migi ni magatte kudasai.	Formally asking a stranger for directions

STANDARD — ていねい (TEINEI)

Expression	Romaji	Typical Response	Context
ふたつめのかどをひだりにまがってください。	Futatsu-me no kado wo hidari ni magatte kudasai.	ふたつめですね。わかりました。 Futatsu-me desu ne. Wakarimashita.	Giving a specific turn instruction
こうさてんをすぎて、みぎがわにあります。	Kousaten wo sugite, migigawa ni arimasu.	みぎがわですね。ありがとうございます。 Migigawa desu ne. Arigatou gozaimasu.	Describing location past an intersection

CASUAL — くだけた (KUDAKETA)

Expression	Romaji	Typical Response	Context
あのコンビニのてまえをみぎね。	Ano konbini no temae wo migi ne.	コンビニのてまえね。オッケー。 Konbini no temae ne. Okkee.	Quick casual direction using a landmark
まっすぐいって、すぐみえるよ。	Massugu itte, sugu mieru yo.	りょうかい！ Ryoukai!	Casually saying it's easy to find

🗣 Mini Dialogues

Three scenes at different formality levels. Press ▶ to hear each line.

A — FORMAL · Asking a Stranger for Directions to the Station

エマ

すみません、えきはどちらですか？

Sumimasen, eki wa dochira desu ka?

Excuse me, which way is the station?

すみません、 [PLACE] はどちらですか？

sumimasen, [place] wa dochira desu ka?

excuse me [place] (topic) which-way is (Q)

"Excuse me, which way is [place]?" — formal way to ask directions

つうこうにん

つぎのしんごうをみぎにまがってください。ごふんぐらいです。

Tsugi no shingou wo migi ni magatte kudasai. Go-fun gurai desu.

Turn right at the next traffic light. It's about 5 minutes.

[LANDMARK] を [DIRECTION] にまがってください。

[landmark] wo [direction] ni magatte kudasai.

[landmark] (at) [direction] turn please

"Please turn [direction] at [landmark]." — core direction-giving pattern

エマ

ありがとうございます。たすかりました。

Arigatou gozaimasu. Tasukarimashita.

Thank you very much. That's a great help.

B — STANDARD · Colleague Explaining Route to a Restaurant

たなか

レストランはここからまっすぐいってください。

Resutoran wa koko kara massugu itte kudasai.

For the restaurant, go straight from here.

すずき

こうさてんをすぎてからですか？

Kousaten wo sugite kara desu ka?

Is it after passing the intersection?

たなか

はい、こうさてんをすぎて、ひだりがわにみえます。

Hai, kousaten wo sugite, hidarigawa ni miemasu.

Yes, pass the intersection and you'll see it on the left side.

[LANDMARK] をすぎて、 [SIDE] にみえます。

[landmark] wo sugite, [side] ni miemasu.

[landmark] pass-and [side] visible-is

"Pass [landmark] and you'll see it on the [side]."

C — CASUAL · Friend Giving Quick Directions

ゆうと

ねえ、カフェどこ？

Nee, kafe doko?

Hey, where's the cafe?

はな

あのコンビニのてまえをみぎね。すぐみえるよ。

Ano konbini no temae wo migi ne. Sugu mieru yo.

Turn right just before that convenience store. You'll see it right away.

[LANDMARK] のてまえを [DIRECTION] ね。

[landmark] no temae wo [direction] ne.

[landmark] before (at) [direction] (OK?)

"Turn [direction] just before [landmark]." — casual directions with てまえ

ゆうと

りょうかい！ありがとう。

Ryoukai! Arigatou.

Got it! Thanks.

📋 Key Patterns & Cheatsheet ▼

Asking for directions — ～はどちらですか / どこ？

FORMAL

すみません、 [PLACE] はどちらですか？

sumimasen, [place] wa dochira desu ka?

"Excuse me, which way is [place]?" (keigo)

STANDARD

すみません、 [PLACE] はどこですか？

sumimasen, [place] wa doko desu ka?

"Excuse me, where is [place]?" (polite)

CASUAL

[PLACE] どこ？

[place] doko?

"Where's [place]?" — drop everything non-essential.

Giving a turn instruction — ～を [direction] にまがって

🟢 STANDARD

つぎのしんごうをみぎにまがってください。

Tsugi no shingou wo migi ni magatte kudasai.

Please turn right at the next traffic light.

[LANDMARK] を [DIRECTION] にまがってください — polite turn instruction.

🟡 CASUAL

つぎのしんごうみぎね。

Tsugi no shingou migi ne.

Next light, go right.

Drop を, に, まがって, ください — just landmark + direction + ね.

Describing location — ～をすぎて / ～のてまえ

STANDARD

[LANDMARK] をすぎて、 [SIDE] にあります。

[landmark] wo sugite, [side] ni arimasu.

"Pass [landmark] and it's on the [side]."

CASUAL

[LANDMARK] のてまえを [DIRECTION] ね。

[landmark] no temae wo [direction] ne.

"Turn [direction] just before [landmark]." — casual with てまえ

Saying something is visible — ～がみえます

🟢 STANDARD

ひだりがわにみえます。

Hidarigawa ni miemasu.

You'll see it on the left side.

みえます = "(it) is visible" — polite, no subject needed.

🟡 CASUAL

すぐみえるよ。

Sugu mieru yo.

You'll see it right away.

みえる = plain form of みえます. Add よ for reassurance.

A — Flashcards

Click a card to flip it. Use ▶ to hear the Japanese.

tap to flip

1 / 10

B — Listen & Choose the Meaning

Press ▶ to hear each phrase, then choose the correct English meaning.

C — Choose the Right Response

Listen to the question, then choose the most natural reply.

D — Listen & Write in Romaji

Press ▶ to hear each phrase, then type what you heard in romaji. Japanese letters are not needed.

💡 Tip: Long vowels → double the vowel (おう = ou / oo). Double consonants → write them twice (きって = kitte).

E — Shadowing Practice

Press ▶ to hear each line, say it aloud, then mark it as practised.

0 of 9 lines practised

📖 Grammar Notes ▼

～てください — Direction commands

て-form of a verb + ください (kudasai) = "please do ~". This is the core pattern for giving polite directions.

  • まがる → まがって + ください = まがってください (please turn)
  • いく → いって + ください = いってください (please go)
  • すぎる → すぎて + ください = すぎてください (please pass)

Casual: drop ください — just use the て-form alone (まがって, いって).

[DIRECTION/PLACE] にまがってください。

[direction/place] ni magatte kudasai.

"Please turn toward [direction/place]."

みぎにまがってください。

Migi ni magatte kudasai.

Please turn right.

～を + direction verb — Turning at a landmark

Use を to mark the point where you turn or pass. The landmark before を is the reference point for the action.

  • しんごうをみぎにまがる = turn right at the traffic light
  • かどをひだりにまがる = turn left at the corner
  • こうさてんをすぎる = pass the intersection

[LANDMARK] を [DIRECTION] にまがってください。

[landmark] wo [direction] ni magatte kudasai.

"Please turn [direction] at [landmark]."

つぎのしんごうをみぎにまがってください。

Tsugi no shingou wo migi ni magatte kudasai.

Please turn right at the next traffic light.

～め — Ordinal counter ("the Nth ~")

Add め (me) after a counter to make it ordinal — "the first", "the second", etc.

  • ひとつめ = the first one
  • ふたつめ = the second one
  • みっつめ = the third one

Commonly used with かど (corner), しんごう (traffic light), and こうさてん (intersection).

[NUMBER] めの [LANDMARK]

[number] -me no [landmark]

"The [Nth] [landmark]"

ふたつめのかどをひだりにまがってください。

Futatsu-me no kado wo hidari ni magatte kudasai.

Please turn left at the second corner.

～のてまえ / むこう — "just before" / "beyond"

てまえ (temae) = "this side of" / "just before". むこう (mukou) = "the other side" / "beyond".

• コンビニのてまえ = just before the convenience store
• えきのむこう = beyond the station

These help pinpoint locations relative to landmarks the listener can see.

[LANDMARK] のてまえ / むこう

[landmark] no temae / mukou

"Just before / beyond [landmark]"

あのコンビニのてまえをみぎね。

Ano konbini no temae wo migi ne.

Turn right just before that convenience store.

しんごう / こうさてん / かど — Direction landmarks

Three essential landmarks used in direction-giving:

  • しんごう (shingou) = traffic light
  • こうさてん (kousaten) = intersection / crossroads
  • かど (kado) = corner

These are the reference points people use most often when explaining routes.

つぎの [しんごう / こうさてん / かど] を…

tsugi no [shingou / kousaten / kado] wo…

"At the next [traffic light / intersection / corner]…"

こうさてんをすぎて、ひだりがわにみえます。

Kousaten wo sugite, hidarigawa ni miemasu.

Pass the intersection and you'll see it on the left side.

～がみえます — "You can see ~"

みえます (miemasu) = "(something) is visible / you can see (it)". Unlike みます (to look at), みえます describes something naturally coming into view.

• ひだりがわにみえます = you'll see it on the left
• すぐみえるよ = you'll see it right away (casual)

Often used at the end of directions to tell someone they'll spot the destination.

[SIDE/LOCATION] にみえます。

[side/location] ni miemasu.

"You'll see it on/at [side/location]."

みぎがわにみえます。

Migigawa ni miemasu.

You'll see it on the right side.

～ぐらいです — Approximate distance / time

ぐらい (gurai) = "about / approximately". Used after a number + counter to soften the estimate.

• ごふんぐらい = about 5 minutes
• じゅっぷんぐらい = about 10 minutes

Very common in directions for giving walking time estimates.

[NUMBER + COUNTER] ぐらいです。

[number + counter] gurai desu.

"It's about [amount]."

ごふんぐらいです。

Go-fun gurai desu.

It's about 5 minutes.

📚 Key Vocabulary ▼

Japanese	Romaji	Meaning
みぎ	migi	right
ひだり	hidari	left
まっすぐ	massugu	straight ahead
まがる	magaru	to turn
すぎる	sugiru	to pass / to go past
しんごう	shingou	traffic light
こうさてん	kousaten	intersection / crossroads
かど	kado	corner
てまえ	temae	just before / this side of
むこう	mukou	the other side / beyond
みぎがわ	migigawa	right side
ひだりがわ	hidarigawa	left side
みえる / みえます	mieru / miemasu	to be visible / can see
ぐらい	gurai	about / approximately
コンビニ	konbini	convenience store