I personally love going to a book store. It is so relaxing browsing through the books or reading into one specific book you have already been wanting to read. Of course, some of them, you like them so much that you want to buy them to take them home with you. In Japan, there are many types of book stores. You will see some larger book stores, such as Barnes and Nobles here in the U.S; however, you also see much smaller book stores as well. There are also many used book stores that are often very small but yet have many books packed inside. They often sell used comic books.

 

Related to book stores, here are some of the useful Japanese vocabulary to know:

 

Hon (本、ほん)-books

Honya (本屋、ほんや)-book store

Manga (漫画、まんが)-comic books, graphic novels

Zasshi (雑誌、ざっし)-magazine

Yousho (洋書、ようしょ) -foreign titles

Washo (和書、わしょ)-Japanese titles

Shinbun (新聞、しんぶん)-newspaper

 

Also, related to books, here is how we count books in Japanese.

is satsu – 1 boook

ni satsu – 2 books

san satsu – 3 books

yon satsu – 4 books

go satsu – 5 books

roku satsu – 6 books

nana  satsu – 7 books

ha satsu – 8 book

kyu satsu – 9 books

jus satsu – 10 books

 

Useful expressions at the book store.

_________________________________________________

Zasshi wa dokoni arimasuka?

雑誌は　どこに　ありますか？（ざっし　は　どこに　ありますか？）

Where are the magazines?

__________________________________________________

Kono manga no 4(yon) kan wa arimasuka?

この　漫画　の　４巻　は　ありますか？　（この　まんがの　よんかん　は　ありますか？）

Do you carry the #4 of this comic book?

___________________________________________________

Kongetsu gou no ELLE no zasshi wa mou deteimasuka?

ＥＬＬＥ　の　雑誌の　今月号　は　もう　出ていますか？（ＥＬＬＥ　の　ざっしの　こんげつごうは　もうでていますか？）

Has this month’s ELLE already been out?

___________________________________________________

Kinou no shinbun wa mada arimasuka?

昨日の　新聞　は　まだ　ありますか？（きのうの　しんぶんは　まだ　ありますか？）

Do you still carry(have) yesterday’s  newspaper?

____________________________________________________

Kono sansatsu kudasai.

この　三冊　下さい。　（この　さんさつ　ください。）

I will take these three books.

_____________________________________________________

Kono go satsu de oikura desuka?

この　五冊　で　おいくら　ですか？　（このごさつで　おいくらですか？）

How much will it be for these 5 books?

_______________________________________________________

Hope you got to learn some useful expressions to use at the book store today. Let me know if you have any specific topic in mind!