When traveling abroad, the challenges of communication can often turn an exciting vacation into a frustrating experience. While travel SIM cards are better than roaming fees, the cost of using an online-only app can be expensive and phrasebooks still serve an important function in travel today. However, all of these books are extremely general and have an able-bodied user in mind as the audience. For travelers with disabilities, communicating your needs is extremely important. So, we have created a phrasebook of essential Japanese for travelers with disabilities.
There is no reason to redo what other publications have done better, so we recommend you do pick up a regular phrasebook to cover the basics. We will only focus on accessibility and disability related words and phrases. The Japanese will be written using Japanese characters so you can show it to a native speaker for the fastest results. For those interested in saying the phrase yourself, please see the pronunciation. This page provides a great explanation of how to pronounce Japanese: An Introduction to Japanese Pronunciation.
Accessible Japan strives to work closely with the people who use this site and want to be as inclusive of every disability as possible. If there is something you feel is missing from this phrasebook, please let us know in the forum.
Basic Words
| English | Japanese | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Disability | 障害 | shōgai |
| Physical Disability | 身体障害 | shintai shōgai |
| Hearing Impairment | 聴覚障害 | chōkaku shōgai |
| Visual Impairment | 視力障害 | shiryoku shōgai |
| Learning Difficulties | 知的障害 | chiteki shōgai |
| Autism | 自閉症 | jiheishō |
| Long-term illness | 難病 | nanbyō |
| Multiple Sclerosis; MS | 多発性硬化症 | tahatsusei kōkashō |
| Diabetes | 糖尿病 | tōnyōbyō |
| Asthma | ぜんそく | zensoku |
| Epilepsy | てんかん | tenkan |
| (Epileptic) Seizure | (てんかん)発作 | (tenkan) hossa |
| Wheelchair | 車いす | kuruma-isu |
| Electric Wheelchair | 電動車いす | dendō kuruma-isu |
| Manual Wheelchair | 手動車いす | shudō kuruma-isu |
| Cane | 杖 | tsu-e |
| Attendant | 介助者 / ヘルパー | kaijosha / herupā |
| Accessible | バリアフリー | baria furii |
| Accessible Toilet | 誰でもトイレ / 多目的トイレ | dare-demo toire / tamokuteki toire |
| Elevator | エレベーター | erebētā |
| Ramp | スロープ | surōpu |
| Shower chair | シャワーチェア / シャワー椅子 | shawā che-a / shawā isu |
| Hand rail | 手すり | te-suri |
| Wheelchair space | 車いすスペース | kuruma-isu supēsu |
| Guide/Service Dog | 補助犬 | hojoken |
| Medicine | 薬 | kusuri |
Phrases
Disability Related
| English | Japanese | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| I am disabiled | 障がい者です | shōgai-sha desu |
| I have [disability] | [disability] を持っています | [disability] o motte-masu |
| Can walk a bit | 少し歩けます | sukoshi arukemasu |
| Cannot walk at all | 全然歩けません | zenzen arukemasen |
Hotels
| English | Japanese | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Do you have an accessible room? | バリアフリー部屋がありますか？ | baria furii heya ga arimasu ka? |
| Is there a roll-in shower? | バスタブとは別のシャワースペースがありますか？ | basu tabu to wa betsu no shawā supe-su ga arimasu ka? |
| Is there a shower chair? | シャワーチェアがありますか？ | shawā che-a ga arimasu ka? |
| Are there any steps in the room? | 部屋には、段差がありますか？ | heya ni wa, dansa ga arimasu ka? |
| Is there a step into the bathroom? | トイレの入り口には、段差がありますか？ | toire no iri-guchi ni wa, dansa ga arimasu ka? |
| How wide is the door? | ドアの幅は何センチですか？ | do-a no haba wa nan senchi desu ka? |
| Is there a wheelchair I can borrow? | 貸出車いすがありますか？ | kashi-dashi kuruma-isu ga arimasu ka? |
Transportation
| English | Japanese | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Which entrance has an elevator? | エレベーターのある入り口はどちらですか？ | erebētā no aru iri-guchi wa dochira desu ka? |
| I want to go to [place] | [Place] に行きたいです | [Place] ni ikitai desu |
| Can you provide a (portable) ramp for the train please? | スロープをお願いします | surōpu o onegai shimasu |
Out and About
| English | Japanese | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Is there an accessible restaurant nearby? | 車いすが入れるレストランは、この辺にありますか？ | kuruma-isu ga haireru resutoran wa, kono-hen ni arimasu ka? |
| Is there an accessible entrance? | 車いすが入れる入り口がありますか？ | kuruma-isu ga haireru iri-guchi ga arimasu ka? |
| How do I go from [Place A] to [Place B] in a wheelchair? | 車いすで、[Place A] から [Place B] までどうやって行きますか？ | kuruma-isu de, [Place A] kara [Place B] made dō yatte ikimasu ka? |
| Can I visit [Place] with a wheelchair? | 車いすでも、[Place] に行けますか？ | kuruma-isu demo, [Place] ni ikemasu ka? |
| Can you reach that for me? | あれを取っていただけますか？ | a-re o totte itadakemasu ka? |
| Can you guide me to [Place]? | [Place] まで案内していただけますか？ | [Place] made an-nai shi-te itadakemasu ka? |
| Do you have a fork(/spoon/straw)? | フォーク（/スプーン/ストロー）がありますか？ | fōku(/su-pun/sutorō) ga arimasu ka? |
| Are there any stairs? | 階段がありますか？ | dansa ga arimasu ka? |
Equipment
| English | Japanese | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| It can fold | 折りたためます | ori-tatamemasu |
| It can’t fold | 折りたためません | ori-tatamemasen |
| Hold here | ここで持ってください | koko de motte kudasai |
| It is too heavy to lift | 重すぎです | omosugi desu |
| It is [weight] kg | [weight] キロです | [weight] kiro desu |
| It is a [type] battery | [ｔype] バッテリーです | [type] batterii desu |
| Dry battery | ドライバッテリー | dorai batterii |
| Lithium-ion battery | リチウムイオン バッテリー | richi-umu i-on batterii |
| Wet battery | ウェットバッテリー | wetto batterii |
| Sealed battery | シールドバッテリー | shiirudo batterii |
| Non-sealed battery | ノンシールドバッテリー | non shiirudo batterii |
| Please be careful | 気を付けてください | ki o tsukete kudasai |
Getting Help
| English | Japanese | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Excuse me | すみません | sumimasen |
| Please help me / give me a hand | 手伝ってください | tetsu datte kudasai |
| I’m fine/OK | 大丈夫です | daijōbu desu |
| Help (emergency) | 助けて！ | tasukute |
| Can you please write it down | 書いて頂けますか？ | kaite itadakimasu ka? |
Allergies
| English | Japanese | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Vegetarian | 菜食主義 | saishoku shugi |
| Gluten | グルテン | guruten |
| Milk | 牛乳 | gyūnyū |
| Dairy | 乳製品 | nyūseihin |
| Peanut | 落花生 | rakka-sei |
| Soy | 大豆 | dai-zu |
| Nuts | ナッツ | nattsu |
| Eggs | 卵 | tamago |
| Does this contain [food] | [food] が入っていますか？ | [food] ga haite masu ka? |
| I have a [food] allergy. | [food] アレルギーを持っています | [food] arerugii o motte mas |
| Can you make this without [food]? | [food] なしで作っていただけますか？ | [food] nashi de tsukutte itadakemasu ka? |