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Ordering behind-the-counter food at kombini 2017/8/24 05:44
You know how the have warm usually fried food behind the counter at 7-11 and so on?

All I know is when you want to order something, it is "(item you want) wo kudasai". But how do I say that I want several of something?

For example, what if I wanna buy one hot dog, one nikuman and two sides of potato wedges? What counter do I use, what sounds natural? Will it be a different counter for hot dogs which are cylindrical than nikuman which are round?

Also sometimes I'd like them to hand me the food I want and my friend the food they wanted even if I order both. How can I say something like "I'd like a coffee, and my friend will have a milk shake"?
by Rickie (guest)  

Re: Ordering behind-the-counter food at kombini 2017/8/24 11:14
There are lots of counters (hot dogs would be "ippon, nihon, sanbon," for example) that could be used, but generally you will be ok with saying "ikko, niko, sanko" or "hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu" for most things. People will understand what you are asking for and it's not a mistake. Japanese people often omit counters (for example, "scissors" should technically be counted "icchou, nichou, sanchou" but I hardly ever hear Japanese people use that.)

As for the "me and my friend part," you could say something like "Koohi ha kochira. Mirukuseeki ha sochira desu" while gesturing toward your friend for the second part. This is what people usually say when the waiter brings something out to the table - "hai, kocchi!"
by Gigi (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Ordering behind-the-counter food at kombini 2017/8/24 11:17
"one hot dog, one nikuman and two sides of potato wedges"
(hot dog wo hitotsu, nikuman wo hitotsu, potato wo hitosu, kudasai)

"I'd like a coffee, and my friend will have a milk shake"
(coffee wo hitotsu, milk shake wo hitotsu, kudasai) and then, you and your friend share for the payment, pay individually or together.
by tokyo friend 48 rate this post as useful

Re: Ordering behind-the-counter food at kombini 2017/8/24 11:27
You can always use the generic unit of count. I.e.,
1 - hitotsu or ikko
2 - futatsu or niko
3 - mittsu or sanko
4 - yottsu or yonko
5 - itsutsu or goko

For something like "A for me and B for him", you can say:
watashi wa A to kare wa B
by Nanjak Ore (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Ordering behind-the-counter food at kombini 2017/8/24 16:54
Also sometimes I'd like them to hand me the food I want and my friend the food they wanted even if I order both. How can I say something like "I'd like a coffee, and my friend will have a milk shake"?

Just to add, kombini workers are usually inexperienced part-timers and even foreign students who barely understand Japanese or English.

If you start your order like that, they would be confused about who is paying for what. So if I were you, and if I am the person paying for everything, I would say my order without mentioning who the items are for.

Then when they start handing out the food, or start asking if you need a bag, just gesture to the person you want to hand it to. You can say "kochira" or something if you want to, but it's often most comprehensible if you simply gesture without saying much.

Either way, try to speak basic Japanese at kombini. You can practice complicated phrases with old-timers at a "shotengai" shopping arcade.
by Uco rate this post as useful

Re: Ordering behind-the-counter food at kombini 2017/8/25 12:58
1)
日本語で言わなくとも注文は出来るよね。:)
Use yr hand and finger as indications.
Pointing someone(real human) with yr finger( index finger) or chopsticks is one of bad manner, though.
https://gurunavi.com/en/japanfoodie/2015/10/chopstick.html

Counter words may a bit hard to remember all perfectly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_counter_word

For the food that stuck(or wound) on the stick is "1本,,," using best,
but actually we do not mind even with "1つ,,," or "1個,,,", this is not wrong.
1個,,, sounds like a kid than 1つ,,,. (no bad meaning just like younger/teens, pretty frank)

2)
The order of coffee is a bit different depending on the convenience store,
basically it is payment at cash register first, using "coffee maker(machine)" is self-service.
For "ice coffee" brings cups with ice to the cash register from the refrigerator first.

However, fr last Nov new coffee maker with coin insert slot has started.(only for Regular size)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUYWL93DC2E/
But it has not yet spread nationwide. (no sure by machine price or other reasons?)


And,
こちら/こっち(for me) then こちら(for yr friend, family or group) is better.
1つは私(に)、もう1つは、彼/彼女(息子/娘)に is the best.
Using そちら when closing is not good as Honorific. (sounds like unknown or bad relations)
When indication a remote place as out of reach,
"そちら/そっち" or "あちら/あっち" possible as "over there(むこう/向こう)".
(こっち/そっち/あっち are not Honorific)

Basically, "honorific words" mainly "お" or "ご" are not used for myself,
but honorific expression exists as an exception as custom.
「ごはん」が美味しかったので、「おかわり」(を)してしまった。
「お手洗い(トイレ)」に行って(い)ただけです。
xx神社に「お参り(参拝)」して来ました。

If these can be understood perfectly, you may pass the "N1".
by OaMoadas (guest) rate this post as useful

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