(Illustration by Yukiyo Oda/Stripes Japan)

Usually, when you leave your office and go home, you might say “see you” or “have a good one” to your coworkers still in the office. In Japan, however, people say “osaki ni shitsurei shimasu” instead, which roughly means “excuse me for leaving before you.”

(“Osaki ni”– early/before, “shisturei suru/shitsurei shimasu” – leave)

Let’s use this phrase and communicate well with your Japanese coworkers.

See you in the next episode of Speakin’ Japanese!