N5 発話表現: What Do You Say in This Situation?
発話表現（はつわひょうげん, verbal expressions — 5 items）is the exam's role-play question: you see a picture with an arrow (➡) pointing at one person, a narrator describes the situation, and you choose which of 3 spoken options that person should say. Nothing is printed except the picture — the options are audio only. This question is pure practical Japanese: it tests whether you own the set phrases for asking, requesting, offering, apologizing, and inviting. This chapter is the complete situation-to-phrase catalog for N5.
1. The Format, Exactly
- You see the picture; the arrow marks the SPEAKER (the person whose line you choose).
- Narrator: 友だちのペンを借りたいです。何と言いますか。("You want to borrow your friend's pen. What do you say?")
- Three short options play: ① ペンを貸してください。② ペンを借りてください。③ ペンを貸しましょうか。
- Answer: ① — you want them to LEND you the pen (貸す), politely requested with てください.
Notice what killed the wrong options: ② uses the wrong direction verb (borrow vs lend — the receiver can't say "please borrow"), ③ is an offer (shall I lend?) which reverses the roles. 発話表現's two great weapons are direction verbs and role reversal. Keep asking: who does the action — me, or you?
2. The Situation Catalog
These are the standard N5 scenarios and their correct utterances. Read each aloud — the exam plays them, so your ear must own them.
Requests: getting someone to do something
| Situation | Say |
|---|---|
| Want them to lend you something | ～を貸してください。／～を借りてもいいですか。 |
| Want them to speak slowly / repeat | ゆっくり話してください。／もう一度言ってください。 |
| Want them to wait | ちょっと待ってください。 |
| Want them to show you something | それを見せてください。 |
| Want them to teach/tell you | 教えてください。 |
| Want the salt/an item passed | すみません、それを取ってください。 |
| In a shop, want that one | それをください。／それを見せてください。 |
Permission: may I…?
| Situation | Say |
|---|---|
| Want to enter the room | 入ってもいいですか。／失礼します。 |
| Want to take a photo | 写真を撮ってもいいですか。 |
| Want to use the phone/toilet | 電話を使ってもいいですか。／トイレを借りてもいいですか。 |
| Want to sit in the free seat | ここ、いいですか。／すわってもいいですか。 |
| Want to go home early（to teacher/boss） | すみません、先に帰ってもいいですか。 |
Offers: shall I…? / please go ahead
| Situation | Say |
|---|---|
| Someone's hands are full | 持ちましょうか。（Shall I carry it?） |
| Room is hot; you're near the window | 窓を開けましょうか。 |
| Guest arrives at your home | どうぞ、入ってください。／どうぞ、すわってください。 |
| Offering food/tea | どうぞ、食べてください。／お茶はどうですか。 |
| Handing something over | はい、どうぞ。 |
Invitations & plans
| Situation | Say |
|---|---|
| Invite a friend to eat/see a movie | いっしょに昼ごはんを食べませんか。／映画を見に行きませんか。 |
| Agree to an invitation | いいですね。行きましょう。 |
| Decline softly | すみません、その日はちょっと…。 |
Apologies, thanks & daily rituals
| Situation | Say |
|---|---|
| Stepped on someone's foot / bumped | すみません。／ごめんなさい。 |
| You're late | おくれてすみません。 |
| Received a gift/help | ありがとうございます。 |
| Leaving home ⇄ staying | いってきます。⇄ いってらっしゃい。 |
| Coming home ⇄ welcoming | ただいま。⇄ おかえりなさい。 |
| Before ⇄ after eating | いただきます。⇄ ごちそうさまでした。 |
| Meeting someone first time | はじめまして。どうぞよろしくおねがいします。 |
| Visiting someone's home (entering) | おじゃまします。 |
| Leaving work before colleagues | おさきに失礼します。 |
Asking for things & information
| Situation | Say |
|---|---|
| Lost; want the station | すみません、駅はどこですか。 |
| Want the price | これはいくらですか。 |
| Want the time | 今、何時ですか。 |
| Calling a waiter | すみません！（＋注文） |
| Didn't hear/understand | え？すみません、もう一度おねがいします。 |
3. The Three Distractor Recipes
The two wrong audio options are built from the same three molds every time. Know the molds and you can often eliminate by shape even when vocabulary wobbles:
- Role reversal: the line the OTHER person would say. Situation: you receive a gift → wrong option: どうぞ (the giver's line); right: ありがとうございます. The arrow in the picture tells you whose mouth you are — check it twice.
- Direction-verb swap: 貸す/借りる, あげる/もらう, 教える/習う used backwards: ペンを借りてください ✗. If a request contains a verb, ask "who performs it?" — てください makes THEM do it.
- Function swap: right vocabulary, wrong speech act — an offer (ましょうか) where a request (てください) is needed, or a statement where a question belongs: 写真を撮ります ✗ vs 撮ってもいいですか ○.
4. Worked Example
（Picture: a classroom; the arrow points at a student at the door of the teachers' room.）
Narrator: 先生の部屋に入りたいです。何と言いますか。
① 失礼します。入ってもいいですか。
② いらっしゃいませ。
③ おじゃましました。
Walkthrough: entering a teacher's room = permission + polite entry → ①. ② is the SHOP STAFF's greeting (role reversal — you're not welcoming anyone); ③ is said when LEAVING someone's space, not entering (function swap in time). The molds at work.
5. Training Routine
- Flashcard by situation, not phrase: prompt = "friend's pen, want to borrow"; answer aloud = 貸してください. The exam direction is situation→utterance, so drill that direction.
- Shadow the catalog until each line has its natural melody — the options play fast, and recognizing by rhythm is faster than parsing.
- Live the phrases: every real-life どうぞ／すみません／おじゃまします you produce is exam prep. This block rewards learners who actually speak.
Summary & Key Takeaways
- 発話表現 (5 items): picture + arrow + narrated situation → choose the right spoken line from 3 audio options.
- Core inventory: requests (〜てください), permission (〜てもいいですか), offers (〜ましょうか／どうぞ), invitations (〜ませんか), apologies/thanks, daily ritual pairs, and info questions.
- Distractor molds: role reversal, direction-verb swap (貸す/借りる…), function swap (offer vs request vs statement).
- Always confirm who the arrow marks, then ask "who performs the verb?" before choosing.
- Drill situation→utterance aloud; the phrases are the same ones that run your daily life in Japan.