In this lesson you will learn how to get things fixed in Japan. You will practice describing a maintenance problem in your apartment to a resident manager or repairman, asking them to come check on a problem, requesting a repair, and asking how long the repair will take. The lesson also covers dates, days, and weeks needed to understand when your item will be ready.

電気がつきません。故障です。 — Denki ga tsukimasen. Koshoo desu. — “The electricity isn’t working. It’s broken.”

Dialogues (会話)

Situation 1 — Mr. Peterson calls the resident manager about the electricity

Romaji	English
Piitaason: Sumimasen.	Excuse me.
Kanrinin: Hai. Nan desu ka?	Yes. What is it?
Piitaason: Denki ga tsukimasen. Shirabete kudasaimasen ka?	The electricity isn’t working. Could you check it?
Kanrinin: Soo desu ka. Wakarimashita.	I see. Sure.

Situation 2 — Ms. Adams tells her maintenance man the sink drain is clogged

Romaji	English
Adamusu: Sumimasen. Nagashi no mizu ga nagaremasen.	Excuse me, but the drain in the sink is clogged.
Shuurinin: Soo desu ka. Otaku wa nan-ban desu ka?	Oh. What is your apartment number?
Adamusu: San-gai no 307 desu.	It’s 307, on the third floor.
Shuurinin: Jaa, sugu itte shirabemasu.	I’ll be right up to check.
Adamusu: Jaa, onegaishimasu.	I would appreciate it.

Situation 3 — Mr. Thomas gets shoes repaired at a repair shop

Romaji	English
Shuuriya: Irasshai.	Welcome.
Toomasu: Konnichiwa. Kono kutsu no kakato o naoshite kudasai.	Good day. Would you fix the heels of these shoes?
Shuuriya: Kakato dake desu ne? Kashikomarimashita.	Just the heels? Certainly.
Toomasu: Itsu dekimasu ka?	When will they be ready?
Shuuriya: Soo desu ne. Ima chotto kondeimasu kara, asatte de ii desu ka?	Hmm. We’re a little busy now, so how about the day after tomorrow?
Toomasu: Asatte desu ne? Nan-ji goro desu ka?	Day after tomorrow? About what time?
Shuuriya: Gogo dekimasu. Onamae wa?	They will be ready in the afternoon. Your name?
Toomasu: Toomasu desu. Jaa, asatte gogo kimasu. Ikura gurai desu ka?	Thomas. Then I’ll come back the day after tomorrow in the afternoon. How much will it be?
Shuuriya: Sen-en desu.	1,000 yen.
Toomasu: Jaa, onegaishimasu.	OK. Thank you.

Key Vocabulary (語彙)

Maintenance and Repair

Romaji	Kana	English
denki	でんき	electricity
tsukimasen	つきません	does not light up / turn on
shirabete	しらべて	check up (te-form of shirabemasu)
nagashi	ながし	kitchen sink
mizu	みず	water
nagaremasen	ながれません	does not flow (neg. of nagaremasu)
nan-ban	なんばん	what number
kakato	かかと	heel(s)
naoshite	なおして	fix, repair (te-form of naoshimasu)
itsu	いつ	when
dekimasu	できます	be ready, be completed
kondeimasu	こんでいます	be crowded, be busy
asatte	あさって	the day after tomorrow
gogo	ごご	p.m., afternoon
onamae	おなまえ	name (polite)
kashikomarimashita	かしこまりました	certainly (very polite acknowledgment)

Describing Problems

Romaji	Kana	English
koshoo shimashita	こしょうしました	is out of order
kowaremashita	こわれました	is broken
demasen	でません	does not come out
kanrinin	かんりにん	resident manager
suidoo	すいどう	water works, plumbing
reezooko	れいぞうこ	refrigerator
renji	レンジ	range, stove
suidoo-ya	すいどうや	plumber
denki-ya	でんきや	electrician, electrical appliance repairman

Time Expressions for Repairs

Romaji	Kana	English
ichi-nichi	いちにち	one day
kakarimasu	かかります	takes (time)
is-shuukan	いっしゅうかん	one week
ni-shuukan	にしゅうかん	two weeks
san-shuukan	さんしゅうかん	three weeks
ik-kagetsu	いっかげつ	one month
ni-kagetsu	にかげつ	two months
san-kagetsu	さんかげつ	three months
raishuu	らいしゅう	next week
raigetsu	らいげつ	next month

Electrical Appliances

Romaji	Kana	English
sutereo	ステレオ	stereo
toosutaa	トースター	toaster
mikisaa	ミキサー	mixer, blender
denchi	でんち	battery
tokee	とけい	clock, watch
denki kamisori	でんきかみそり	electric shaver
dentaku	でんたく	electric calculator
airon	アイロン	iron

Grammar & Usage Notes

1. Describing maintenance problems

Use these patterns to explain what is wrong:

Pattern	Example	Meaning
X ga koshoo shimashita.	Reezooko ga koshoo shimashita.	The refrigerator is out of order.
X ga kowaremashita.	Sutereo ga kowaremashita.	The stereo is broken.
Mizu ga demasen.	—	The water doesn’t come out.
Denki ga tsukimasen.	—	The electricity isn’t working.

2. Asking someone to check or fix something

Shirabete kudasaimasen ka? — “Could you check it?” Mite kudasaimasen ka? — “Could you look at it?” Naoshite kudasaimasen ka? — “Will you fix it?”

To ask the manager to call a repairman: (repairman) o yonde kudasaimasen ka?

3. Asking when something will be ready

Itsu dekimasu ka? — “When will it be ready?”

The repairman may answer with a date (Hatsuka desu — “the 20th”) or a duration (Mikka kakarimasu — “it will take three days”). The word kakarimasu means “to take (time).“

4. Weeks and months

Number	Weeks	Months
1	is-shuukan	ik-kagetsu
2	ni-shuukan	ni-kagetsu
3	san-shuukan	san-kagetsu

Practice Exercises (練習)

A. Production and Comprehension — When will it be fixed?

Ask when the appliance will be fixed. The instructor answers with a date. Write down the date.

Example: — Itsu dekimasu ka? — Hatsuka desu. (Write: 20th) — OR: Hatsuka ni dekimasu. (Write: 20th)

B. Production and Comprehension — Days, weeks, and months

Ask the instructor when the appliance will be fixed. The instructor answers with either a date, number of days, or number of weeks/months. Write down the answer.

Example: — Itsu dekimasu ka? — Mikka kakarimasu. (Write: 3 days)

C. Word Study — Electrical appliances

Practice saying the following appliance names after the instructor:

Romaji	English
sutereo	stereo set
toosutaa	toaster
mikisaa	blender / food mixer
denchi	battery
tokee	clock, watch
denki kamisori	electric shaver
dentaku	electric calculator
airon	iron

D. Role Play — Solving repair problems

Act out the following situations:

Your refrigerator is out of order. Go to the kanrinin and ask them to check it.
Your tape recorder is out of order. Take it to a nearby denki-ya for repair.
You have a pair of shoes that need repair. Take them to a shoe repair shop.

E. Supplementary — Describing the weather (past tense)

Practice describing the weather on past dates using deshita (past tense of desu):

Symbol	Japanese
☀ sunny	hare deshita
☁ cloudy	kumori deshita
☂ rain	ame deshita
❄ snow	yuki deshita

Example: Ichi-gatsu muika wa hare deshita. — “It was sunny on January 6th.”

Cultural Notes

Electrical equipment in Japan

Electric current in Japan is 100–110 volts, about 9% lower than in the U.S. (110–120V). In western Japan (Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe), the cycle is 60 Hz — the same as in the U.S. However, eastern Japan including Tokyo uses 50 Hz. Appliances with motors brought from the U.S. may need adjustment before use in Tokyo. Electric clocks are often impractical to convert. Many appliances such as toasters are not affected by the cycle difference.

Getting help from the kanrinin

If you live in an apartment and have electrical or plumbing problems, your first point of contact is the kanrinin (resident manager). They may or may not speak English. If they don’t, you will need to describe the problem in Japanese and ask them to come up and check (Shirabete kudasaimasen ka?) or to call a repairman (Suidoo-ya o yonde kudasaimasen ka? — “Will you call a plumber?”).

Getting Things Fixed

What You Will Learn

Lesson Material