Overview

Notes on English phrases likely to be used in meetings or business trips.

Phrases I want to remember are marked with ★.

Levels of Confidence

Lower on the list = less confident.

I believe that

I think that

I feel that

I suppose that

It seems to me that ★

I would imagine that

I may be wrong, but

(It's possible that ...)

Questions

I'd just like to confirm.

Could I just confirm my understanding?

Just to double-check, xxx. Is that correct?

May I confirm one thing?

Does that mean ... ?

I'm sorry, but ... ★

Is that correct?

Are you saying that ...?

Am I correct that ...?

Just to clarify, ... ★

Checking Understanding

Are we on the same page with this? ★

Does it make sense?

Moving to the Next Topic

If there are no questions, I would like to move on to the next topic. ★

Asking to Repeat

Could you please say that again?

Could you please repeat that?

I'm sorry, but could you please say that again? ★

Preamble Before Saying Something That May Seem Rude

I'm afraid that ... ★

(Japanese: I'm terribly sorry, but...)

I'm afraid I'm not following what you are saying

When Saying Something That May Be Troublesome

I'm sorry to trouble you, ...

I'm sorry to bother you, ... ★

(Japanese: I'm sorry to bother you when you're busy, but...)

Interrupting

Sorry to jump in, ...

I'm sorry, but may I interrupt?

Buying Time

Let me think

Let me see

Asking for a Moment

I'd like to think about it a little further. ★

Can I get back to you next week?

May I think this over for a day and get back to you? ★

When You Don't Know or Can't Answer

I'm not sure

✖ I don't know (this is rude)

I'll get back to you on that.

Let me check and get back to you. ★

I will look into it and get back to you.

I'm sorry I can't answer right now, but I will check and get back to you. ★

When It's Difficult to Answer Due to Your Position

I'm afraid that I'm not in a position to answer it. ★★

I will discuss this with my manager and get back to you. ★

I'm afraid that I can't answer right now. I will check with my manager and get back to you.

Agreeing

I completely agree.

I believe you are right

I agree with you on that.

I think so too. ★

You may be right ★

Showing You're Following Along

I see.

I understand.

I'm following you.

I understand what you are saying.

I see what you mean.

I understand your point.

Disagreeing

I'm afraid that I have a different opinion.

I see it from a different perspective. ★

I'm not sure that I agree with that. ★

I think there is a different way to look at this.

I'm afraid that I have a concern about ... ★

Presenting Research Results

Based on what I've found,

According to ...,

It shows that ... ★

At the Start of a Video Conference

Can you hear me? Can you see me?

We've got Person1, and Person2 on the line.

Does anyone else join the meeting?

Waiting for Participants

Let's wait a few more minutes for everyone to join.

Opening a Meeting

Thank you for holding the workshop today. ★★

Thank you all for taking the time to attend the meeting today.

There is a lot to cover in today's meeting. ★

All right, let's get started. ★

Shall we start the meeting?

Aligning Understanding Before Starting a Meeting

We'd like to make sure we're all on the same page before we get started. ★

Explaining Today's Topics

Today, I'm going to talk about ...

I'd like to share with you ...

Today, I'd like to cover A, B, and C in this presentation. ★★

Asking if There Are Questions

Does anyone have any questions or comments before moving on? ★

Do you have any questions so far?

At the End of a Meeting

Let's confirm the next steps before we wrap up.

Let's wrap up the meeting.

I will send a recap email after the meeting.

When You Can't Hear Well

I'm sorry but it's hard to hear you.

Your voice sounds a little far.

Would you please speak louder?

I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that I didn't catch what you said.

I'm sorry, but I couldn't catch what you said.

When Getting Confused

Let me get this straight. (Let me confirm what you're saying)

When Getting Off Topic

Let's go back to what we were talking about.

Let's discuss that at another meeting.

Greetings

It's a pleasure to meet you.

I'm happy to finally be able to meet you in person.

My name is ...

I'm an IT engineer from xxx.

Goodbye

It was great seeing you.

It was really great talking with you.

I'll see you tomorrow.

Have a nice night.

I look forward to working on this project together.

I hope to see you again soon in Osaka.

Inviting Someone to Eat

We're going to a sushi place for lunch. Would you care to join us?

Before a Meal

This is a really nice restaurant.

Choosing from the Menu

I will go for the cheese burger.

May I have a glass of water?

Small Talk

What's your favorite place in the city?

I talked with xxx before leaving Japan. He said that he wanted to come together.

Do you like Japanese food?

What is your favorite Japanese dish?

Have you tried Kushi katsu?

What do you like to do when you are off?

I tried a blowing fish recently. It's expensive in Japan because it's dangerous. It requires a special technique to cook it. You may be wondering why you have to eat. But, it's perfectly delicious.

After a Meal

I'm glad that we had dinner together.

Making Requests

Could you please ...?

Would you mind ~ing ...?

I would appreciate it if you could ...

I'm sorry to trouble you, but would you please ...?

It would be helpful if you could ...

Urgency

Higher urgency at the top:

at your earliest convenience

as soon as possible

soon

when possible

at your convenience

Extending a Deadline

Would it be possible to extend the due date until next week?

Acknowledgment

Certainly.

Sure, I'd be happy to.

No problem (slightly casual)