Dishwashing soap.
So, to get some emergency dish soap, I went down to the little family-run convenience store about a minute and a half from my house. It was much more expensive than the place I'd usually get dish stuff, but for the sake of convenience, it was great--and the fact that it's family-run made me feel like it was sort of worth it to pay a little (okay, a lot) more. I ended up getting a pink kind that smells like mint, sage, and other herbs--the fact that it was pink was curiously charming to me. However, I don't know the Japanese word for dish soap, so I had to rely on my questionable Japanese skills to ask the lady at the counter about it.
Me: Sumimasen. Kore wa osara no tame ni desu ka?
(What I meant: Excuse me. Is this for dishes?)
(What it means literally: Excuse me. Is this for the sake of plates? :P)
She seemed to understand me pretty easily, but I wonder if it sounded as awkward to her as the literal translation sounds to me. :P If anyone knows offhand how one would ask this question properly, please let me know. I will look it up in one of my books when I'm not feeling so lazy. ^_~
Me: Sumimasen. Kore wa osara no tame ni desu ka?
(What I meant: Excuse me. Is this for dishes?)
(What it means literally: Excuse me. Is this for the sake of plates? :P)
She seemed to understand me pretty easily, but I wonder if it sounded as awkward to her as the literal translation sounds to me. :P If anyone knows offhand how one would ask this question properly, please let me know. I will look it up in one of my books when I'm not feeling so lazy. ^_~