Tourist Japanese – Asking if you can pay by credit card in Japanese

If you are coming to Tokyo for a short vacation or a short trip – learning basic Japanese will make it much more fun! 

You will be able to visit restaurants, stores, and enjoy attractions confidently on your own – connecting with local people!

Also from a practical perspective – you will want to perform some basic tasks:

• Asking if you can pay by credit card
• Trying on clothes and asking for different styles and colors
• Ordering in Japanese at a restaurant

Out of these things – one of the most common things you will face is asking if a store accepts credit card.

In Japan, many stores and restaurants only accept cash – and this can lead to some pretty awkward moments if you don’t clarify this before hand!  🙂

How to ask – “Can I pay by credit card” in Japanese

In areas of Japan that aren’t urbanized – many stores will ask you to pay by cash only.

If you want to ask if you can pay by credit card you can say the following:

カードでいいですか
Kaado de ii desu ka?

Kaado – is card – (short for credit card)

de (pronounced “day”) is a marker that means *by* or *with*  as in – can I pay with a card?

ii (pronounced EE / long E sound in English – as in fee) – means good

desu ka ( kind of sounds like dess ka – you drop the u sound)  is a question marker

desu is a state of being – and ka is a question marker – in English it would be the same as “is it?”

– So if we put the whole sentence together it would be loosely translated as

カードでいいですか
Kaado de ii desu ka?
Credit card – with – good / okay – is it?

Whether you are here for a week – or here for a few years – we provide Japanese courses that prepare you for daily life.

Make the most out of your stay in Japan and have fun with learning!

Contact us to learn about our Japanese lesson options for Travelers in Tokyo