Japanese vocabulary you need to know at the post office

The first time that you send a package overseas using Japanese can be an intimidating experience. I remember going to the post office (郵便局（ゆうびんきょく）) with a box full of goodies for the folks back home and worrying about it going amiss, not through the dishonesty of the Japanese staff but rather through my terrible Japanese.

However, I needn’t have worried. Most of the Japanese used at the post office is actually pretty simple. When you learn a few useful phrases, you will soon be able to get in and out quickly and be certain that your packages will end up exactly where you want them.

Basic phrases

Before you even set foot in the post office, it is worthwhile learning the basic words, so that you know exactly what to expect. Some words that you will likely need include:

• 封筒（ふうとう） (envelope)
• 切手（きって） (stamp)
• 住所（じゅうしょ） (address)
• • which may also be further divided into:
  • ご依頼主（いらいぬし）の住所（じゅうしょ） (the address of the sender)
  • ご届（とど）け先（さき）の住所（じゅうしょ） (the receiver’s address)

From where to where

When you start the conversation, you will want to tell the post office staff exactly where you are sending it. The easiest way to say this is by saying the country name plus へ (he, pronounced e). Some common ones are:

• イギリスへ (to Great Britain)
• アメリカへ (to America)
• 南（みなみ）アフリカへ (to South Africa)
• 香港（ほんこん）へ (to Hong Kong)
• etc.

The next part is to say what you are sending. Like all post offices, the price varies depending on the size of the package:

• 小包（こづつみ） (a package)
• 手紙（てがみ） (a letter)
• 郵便箱（ゆうびんばこ） (a box)
• 葉書（はがき） (a postcard)

The final part is to learn the verb for wanting to send a mail, which is を送（おく）りたいのです.

Therefore, if you want to send it to Canada your sentence would be カナダヘ手紙（てがみ）を送（おく）りたいのです or a box to Germany ドイツへ郵便箱（ゆうびんばこ）を送（おく）りたいのです.

Choosing the type of mail

So far, so good. However, after this comes the real challenge as you have to choose the type of mail that you want. In Japan, there are a surprisingly wide array of mail types. Some mail types to become familiar with include:

• 普通郵便（ふつうゆうびん） is the regular mail type.
• 船便（ふなびん） is for sending by ship. Generally slower, but more affordable.
• 航空便（こうくうびん） is for sending by air, a faster option.
• 速達（そくたつ） is for special deliveries.
• 国際（こくさい）スピード郵便（ゆうびん） is for those who are really in a rush. It is roughly equivalent to the priority mail system.
• エコノミー航空（こうくう） is a combination of air and sea that is for people that want to compromise.

Extras

If you live overseas long enough, you will probably have to send something important home. Whether a passport or a present that you really, really want to arrive in one piece, you may want to request extras such as 書留（かきとめ） (registered mail) or 保険（ほけん） (insurance).

When the contents are valuable, you will likely be asked to write a declaration form about the contents likely using the word 中身（なかみ） (the contents of something), whether the contents are fragile (割（わ）れ物（もの）), and the postcode, which is written as 郵便番号（ゆうびんばんごう） in Japanese.

That’s pretty much it. Thankfully, the words used in post offices are pretty much all simple. With these words in your arsenal, you will be able to go into the post office with confidence, send off the mail and guarantee that it ends up exactly where you want it to go.