LESSON NOTES · レッスンノート

N3Talking to real people · Sep 23, 2026

Japanese job interview phrases: what to say from the door to the bow

A Japanese job interview is more scripted than most learners expect. A large share of it is fixed phrases in a fixed order, and knowing them frees your attention for the parts that are actually about you. Say 失礼しつれいします at the door, call their company 御社おんしゃ, introduce yourself with 〜と申もうします, and never answer 特とくにありません when they ask if you have questions.

The scripted parts are not a formality to endure — they are the register test. An interviewer forms an impression from the first ten seconds, and almost all of that is whether you produced the expected phrase at the expected moment. Get the frame right and your imperfect Japanese inside it reads as nervousness rather than unfamiliarity.

The basics

The phrases you say at the door

Three moments, three phrases, in this order: knocking, entering, and being told to sit.

失礼しつれいいたします。 — Excuse me / may I come in. (very polite, said as you enter after knocking) 本日ほんじつはお時間じかんをいただき、ありがとうございます。 — Thank you for making time for me today. (polite, immediately after entering) 失礼しつれいいたします。 — Excuse me. (said again as you sit, after being invited to) 本日ほんじつは面接めんせつの機会きかいをいただき、ありがとうございます。 — Thank you for the chance to interview today. (very polite, the other standard opener)

失礼しつれいします is the multi-tool of this whole situation. It covers entering, sitting, taking something, and leaving. The humble 失礼しつれいいたします is one notch more formal and is the safer choice in an interview; the difference is the same 謙譲語けんじょうご machinery covered in keigo versus casual Japanese.

Do not sit until invited. どうぞおかけください ("please have a seat") is the cue you are waiting for.

How do you say your own name?

Not です. Interviews use the humble verb.

〇〇と申もうします。本日ほんじつはよろしくお願ねがいいたします。 — My name is 〇〇. Thank you for having me today. (very polite, the standard opening) 〇〇大学だいがくから参まいりました、〇〇と申もうします。 — I'm 〇〇, from 〇〇 University. (very polite, 参まいりました is the humble "came")

申もうします is the humble form of 言いう, used about yourself only. It is not more polite in the abstract — it is lowering, which is what makes it correct here. The same logic gives you 参まいります instead of 行いきます and いたします instead of します. A fuller self-introduction pattern is in jikoshoukai, though an interview version is shorter and less personal than the one you would give at a party.

What do you call their company?

御社おんしゃ(おんしゃ)when speaking, 貴社きしゃ(きしゃ)when writing. This distinction is small, universally known, and an easy thing to get right.

御社おんしゃの〇〇という姿勢しせいに共感きょうかんしました。 — I identified with 〇〇, your company's approach. (polite, spoken form) 貴社きしゃのますますのご発展はってんをお祈いのり申し上もうしあげます。 — I wish your company continued success. (very formal, written — a letter closing)

Never 私わたしの会社かいしゃ about a company you have not joined, and never their plain name without 御社おんしゃ once the interview has started. If the organisation is not a company, the word changes: a shop is 御お店みせ, a school 御お校こう, a foundation 御お財団ざいだん. Related vocabulary is in Japanese work vocabulary.

Beyond the basics

The three questions you will definitely be asked

志望動機しぼうどうき, 自己じこPR, and 長所ちょうしょと短所たんしょ. These are not conversation openers; they are named slots that everyone prepares for, and an unprepared answer is conspicuous.

志望動機しぼうどうきを教おしえてください。 — Please tell us why you applied. (polite, the interviewer's line) 自己じこPRをお願ねがいします。 — Please tell us about your strengths. (polite, literally "self-PR") 長所ちょうしょと短所たんしょを教おしえてください。 — What are your strengths and weaknesses? (polite)

The weakness answer has a conventional shape worth knowing: name a real weakness, then state what you do about it. 心配しんぱい性せいなところがありますが、その分ふん、準備じゅんびは早はやめにするようにしています ("I do worry, but because of that I make a point of preparing early"). Claiming no weaknesses reads badly; claiming a devastating one reads worse.

Never say 特とくにありません

At the end, you will be asked 何なにか質問しつもんはありますか. This is not a courtesy. It is the last scored question.

何なにかご質問しつもんはありますか。 — Do you have any questions? (polite, the interviewer) 一点いってん、お伺うかがいしてもよろしいでしょうか。 — May I ask one thing? (very polite, your opening)

特とくにありません ("nothing in particular") is heard as "I am not that interested." Have two questions ready about the work itself. お伺うかがいする is the humble form of 聞きく, and it is the correct verb for asking a question upward.

The verbs that change in an interview

Humble forms about yourself, honorific forms about them. This table is most of the vocabulary difference between ordinary polite Japanese and interview Japanese.

Ordinary About yourself (humble) About them (honorific)
言いう 申もうします おっしゃいます
行いく / 来くる 参まいります いらっしゃいます
する いたします なさいます
聞きく お伺うかがいします お聞ききになります
見みる 拝見はいけんします ご覧らんになります
思おもう 存ぞんじます お思おもいになります
知しっている 存ぞんじております ご存ぞんじです

You do not need to produce all of these fluently. Getting 申もうします, いたします and 伺うかがいます right, and recognising the rest when they come at you, covers the realistic case. The 〜ます side of this is the same ladder described in de gozaimasu and service keigo.

了解りょうかいしました is the wrong word

This one catches people who learned Japanese from friends or from anime. 了解りょうかい is flat and slightly downward; it is what you say to a peer or a subordinate.

承知しょうちいたしました。 — Understood. (very polite, the correct interview and business form) かしこまりました。 — Certainly. (very polite, more service-industry flavoured but safe)

Similarly, ご苦労様くろうさまです is said downward and is wrong pointed at an interviewer; お疲つかれ様さまです is the safe direction-neutral one, as covered in お疲つかれ様さま.

How does it end?

With two more fixed phrases and a bow at the door.

本日ほんじつは貴重きちょうなお時間じかんをいただき、ありがとうございました。 — Thank you for your valuable time today. (very polite, standing) 失礼しつれいいたします。 — Excuse me. (at the door, turning back to face the room before you bow)

The turning-back detail is real and noticed: you face the room, bow, then leave. A bow delivered to the door while walking out does not count.

Common mistakes

  • Using 私わたしの会社かいしゃ or the company's bare name. It is 御社おんしゃ from the moment the interview starts. This is the single most visible slip.
  • 了解りょうかいしました instead of 承知しょうちいたしました. Correct Japanese, wrong direction.
  • Sitting before being invited. Wait for どうぞおかけください.
  • Over-humbling into unintelligibility. Stacking every honorific you know produces 二重にじゅう敬語けいご (doubled keigo), which is a recognised error. させていただきます on every verb is the usual form this takes.
  • Answering 特とくにありません to the final question. Prepare two questions about the role.
  • Translating a Western-style confident self-pitch directly. The Japanese frame is closer to "here is what I have done and what I am working on" than "here is why I am exceptional."

The interview on one card

Moment What you say
Entering 失礼しつれいいたします
First words 本日ほんじつはお時間じかんをいただき、ありがとうございます
Your name 〇〇と申もうします
Sitting 失礼しつれいいたします(after どうぞおかけください)
Their company 御社おんしゃ (spoken) / 貴社きしゃ (written)
Understanding an instruction 承知しょうちいたしました
Asking something お伺うかがいしてもよろしいでしょうか
Closing 本日ほんじつは貴重きちょうなお時間じかんをいただき、ありがとうございました
At the door 失礼しつれいいたします

Practice

Answers are hidden — build yours first, then open. Questions 4 and 5 are a pair: the same verb, pointed at yourself and then at them.

1. You have knocked and been told to come in. What do you say as you open the door?

Show answer

失礼しつれいいたします — the humble form of 失礼しつれいします. You will use this same phrase again when you sit and again when you leave.

2. Introduce yourself by name in interview register.

Show answer

〇〇と申もうします — 申もうす is the humble form of 言いう, used only about yourself. 〇〇です is correct Japanese but sits a register too low for this room.

3. Something is wrong here, spoken aloud in an interview: 貴社きしゃの製品せいひんが好すきです。

Show answer

御社おんしゃの製品せいひんが好すきです — 貴社きしゃ is the written form, used in application letters and emails. Spoken, it is 御社おんしゃ.

4. Say "I would like to ask one thing" — the verb 聞きく, pointed at yourself.

Show answer

一点いってん、お伺うかがいしてもよろしいでしょうか — 伺うかがう is the humble form of 聞きく. Asking upward requires lowering yourself, not raising them.

5. The interviewer asks about something you said. Which verb do they use about themselves listening: 伺うかがいます or お聞ききになります?

Show answer

伺うかがいます — humble forms attach to the speaker whoever the speaker is. お聞ききになります is what they would use about you listening.

6. Something is wrong here: 了解りょうかいしました。

Show answer

承知しょうちいたしました — 了解りょうかい is flat or downward and is wrong pointed at an interviewer. かしこまりました is also safe.

7. You are asked 何なにか質問しつもんはありますか. What is the one answer to avoid?

Show answer

特とくにありません — it is heard as a lack of interest. This is a scored question, not a courtesy; arrive with two prepared.

8. Give the conventional shape of a weakness answer.

Show answer

A real weakness plus what you do about it — e.g. 心配しんぱい性せいなところがありますが、その分ふん、準備じゅんびは早はやめにするようにしています. Naming no weakness reads as evasive.

9. What is wrong with ご苦労様くろうさまです said to an interviewer?

Show answer

It is said downward — to subordinates or to someone doing a service for you. お疲つかれ様さまです is the safe form, and in an interview a plain thank-you is safer still.

10. Where exactly do you bow on the way out?

Show answer

At the door, turned back to face the room — say 失礼しつれいいたします, turn, bow, then leave. A bow delivered while already walking out is noticed.

FAQ

Do I need this level of keigo if the interview is in English? The entrance and exit phrases still apply, because they happen in the room rather than in the conversation. 失礼しつれいします and a bow cost nothing and are noticed.

Is it acceptable to say I am still learning Japanese? Yes, and it is better than a silence. 日本語にほんごを勉強中べんきょうちゅうですので、聞きき取とれないときは確認かくにんさせていただきます is a normal, confident thing to say early.

What if I do not understand a question? Ask. 恐おそれ入いりますが、もう一度いちどお願ねがいできますでしょうか is entirely normal and far better than answering the wrong question.

How formal should my written application be? More formal than the interview, and it uses 貴社きしゃ rather than 御社おんしゃ. Written business Japanese has its own set phrases — the business vocabulary side of this is a separate study.

Is 御社おんしゃ used for every kind of organisation? No. It is specifically for companies. Schools take 御お校こう, shops 御お店みせ, hospitals 御お院いん. Getting this wrong is minor but avoidable.

Should I use させていただきます a lot? No. It has become a running joke for exactly this reason. Use it where you genuinely received permission to do something; elsewhere, いたします is cleaner.

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab — the first column becomes the front, the second the back.

面接	めんせつ — job interview
失礼	しつれい — rudeness; "excuse me"
申す	もうす — to say (humble)
参る	まいる — to go, to come (humble)
伺う	うかがう — to ask, to visit (humble)
拝見	はいけん — to look at (humble)
存じる	ぞんじる — to know, to think (humble)
承知	しょうち — acknowledgement (humble)
御社	おんしゃ — your company (spoken)
貴社	きしゃ — your company (written)
志望動機	しぼうどうき — reason for applying
自己	じこ — self
長所	ちょうしょ — strong point
短所	たんしょ — weak point
心配性	しんぱいしょう — a worrier by nature
準備	じゅんび — preparation
貴重	きちょう — valuable, precious
質問	しつもん — question
敬語	けいご — honorific language
謙譲語	けんじょうご — humble language
了解	りょうかい — understood (flat or downward)
発展	はってん — growth, development

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime. Students bring this one in with a date already booked, and the useful hour is never about grammar — it is drilling the six fixed phrases until they arrive without thought, so the rest of the room can be spent on the actual answers.

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Sources: the author's own lessons and standard reference grammars.

More drills like the ones above, plus a timed JLPT-style mock test: Practice · N3

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