Ordering at a Japanese Bakery — JLPT N5 Japanese Conversation

The situation

Yattan (ヤッタン) has walked the aisles of a small bakery with a tray and tongs, and now brings it to the counter to talk with the staff member (店員さん).

Key expressions

• これ / それ / その〜 — "this one / that one / that ~." これ is what's near you, それ what's near the listener. Use これ alone when pointing at your tray, or その + noun to name it: その食パン ("that loaf of bread").
• 〜と〜 — the "and" that joins nouns in a complete list: メロンパンとカレーパン ("melon pan and curry pan"). It only links nouns, never sentences. See と: joining nouns for the full pattern.
• 〜をください / 〜でお願いします — "~, please." ください is the everyday "please give me," while で marks a choice you're settling on: 六枚切りでお願いします. See 〜てください and requests for the request pattern ください builds on.
• 温めますか／袋は要りますか — the two yes-no questions at every register. Answer 温めますか with はい、お願いします or いいえ、大丈夫です, and 袋は要りますか the same way. The 〜ますか ending is all you need to hear to know a yes-no answer is expected.

About Japanese bakeries

At a Japanese パン屋 you serve yourself: take a tray (トレー) and tongs (トング) at the entrance, pick up each item yourself, and carry the tray to the register. Alongside sweet breads you'll find 総菜パン (savory filled breads) like カレーパン (fried curry-filled bread) and メロンパン (a crisp, sweet-crusted bun). Sliced loaves (食パン) are cut to order by slice count — 六枚切り (6 thick slices) up to 八枚切り (8 thinner ones) — so the staff will ask 何枚切り before bagging it. If you get flustered at the counter, the one survival phrase to remember is 「これをください」 ("This one, please") while pointing at your tray.