Sending a Package Abroad at a Japanese Post Office — JLPT N5 Japanese Conversation
The situation
Yattan (ヤッタン) steps up to the counter at a post office (郵便局) and talks to the clerk (局員さん).
すみません、この荷物を海外に送りたいです。
すみません、この にもつを かいがいに おくりたいです。
Excuse me, I'd like to send this package abroad.
はい。どちらの国ですか。
はい。どちらの くにですか。
Certainly. Which country?
アメリカです。いくらですか。
アメリカです。いくらですか。
The United States. How much is it?
航空便で2,800円、EMSで4,200円です。
こうくうびんで にせんはっぴゃくえん、イーエムエスで よんせんにひゃくえんです。
It's 2,800 yen by air mail, or 4,200 yen by EMS.
EMSは何日ぐらいかかりますか。
イーエムエスは なんにちぐらい かかりますか。
About how many days does EMS take?
3日から5日ぐらいです。
みっかから いつかぐらいです。
About three to five days.
じゃあ、EMSでお願いします。
じゃあ、イーエムエスで おねがいします。
Then, EMS please.
かしこまりました。こちらの紙に住所を書いてください。
かしこまりました。こちらの かみに じゅうしょを かいてください。
Understood. Please write the address on this form.
Key expressions
- 〜を送りたいです — "I want to send ~." The 〜たい ending turns a verb into "want to do it." 送ります → 送りたいです. See 〜たいです and expressing wants for how to build it from any verb.
- いくらですか — "How much is it?" いくら is the question word for price; add ですか for the polite question. It works for anything you're buying or paying for.
- 何日ぐらいかかりますか — "About how many days does it take?" 何日 = "how many days," ぐらい softens it to "about," and かかります is the verb for time or money "taking / costing."
- 〜でお願いします — "I'll go with ~, please." The particle で picks the method (航空便で, EMSで), and お願いします makes it a polite request. The clerk answers requests like 書いてください with the 〜てください request form.
About the Japanese post office
Japan Post (日本郵便) marks every post office and mailbox with the 〒 symbol — a stylized katakana テ that also prefixes every Japanese postal code (〒160-0022). For overseas mail you choose between 航空便 (air mail), the cheaper but slow 船便 (sea mail), and premium EMS, which is trackable and usually the fastest. Counter staff will hand you a customs form (税関告知書) for anything but a plain letter or postcard. The one survival phrase to remember: 「航空便でお願いします」 ("By air mail, please").
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between 航空便, 船便, and EMS?
航空便 (kōkūbin) is standard air mail, 船便 (funabin) is sea mail — much cheaper but can take weeks — and EMS is the express, trackable service that's usually fastest. At the counter you name the one you want with で: 「EMSでお願いします」.
How do I say I want to send something in Japanese?
Use the 〜たい form of 送ります (to send): 送りたいです ('I want to send'). So 「この荷物を送りたいです」 means 'I'd like to send this package.'
What does the 〒 mark mean?
〒 is Japan Post's official symbol, based on the katakana テ. You'll see it on post offices, red mailboxes, and in front of every postal code, like 〒100-0001.