Japanese Convenience Store Phrases: What the Clerk Says and How to Answer

Japanese convenience store phrases split cleanly into two halves: the rapid keigo the clerk uses at speed, and the three or four short polite answers you give back.¹ For an N5 learner, the hard part is recognition, not speech. You only need to catch one keyword and reply with a fixed phrase.

Overview

A convenience store (コンビニ, konbini) checkout is one of the most predictable conversations in Japan. The clerk works through a short, fixed script, and almost every line reduces to a yes-or-no question about your purchase.

The clerk's speech is the difficult half. It layers honorific, humble, and polite forms at once. The 文化審議会『敬語の指針』 calls this speech style マニュアル敬語, the language taught to new and part-time customer-service staff.¹ Your half is small: はい, お願いします, and a couple of polite ways to say no.

This article treats the transaction as a listening task. Learn to recognize what the clerk is asking, and the speaking side becomes simple.

The conbini transaction is recognition, not production

The 文化審議会『敬語の指針』 analyzes Japanese keigo into five categories: 尊敬語 (honorific), 謙譲語Ⅰ and 謙譲語Ⅱ (two kinds of humble speech), 丁寧語 (the polite です/ます layer), and 美化語 (beautification, as in お酒).¹ The clerk draws on the honorific and humble layers at once. You reply using 丁寧語 only.

That asymmetry is the whole strategy. The clerk's keigo is structurally above N5, but you never have to produce it. You only have to recognize it and give a short answer.

The『敬語の指針』 treats convenience-store and restaurant counter speech as a single documented phenomenon. It names "アルバイトの若者や，彼らが働くレストランやコンビニエンスストアなど" (part-time young workers and the restaurants or convenience stores where they work) when it discusses マニュアル敬語.¹ The keigo you hear at a conbini register is a recognized speech style, not a random local habit.

Catch one keyword, not the whole sentence

The clerk's full sentence is layered keigo, but the meaning reduces to a single noun: 袋 (bag), 温め (heat-up), 箸 (chopsticks), ポイント (point card). Listen for that one word and answer はい or 大丈夫です.

Register: the clerk is always polite; you stay polite and short

丁寧語, the です/ます layer, is the baseline of public 接客 (customer service) speech.¹ A clerk addressing an unknown customer defaults to 丁寧語 plus honorific and humble forms; you reciprocate with 丁寧語 alone.

Plain form (常体, the casual register) does not appear on either side of a clerk-customer exchange between strangers.¹ You cannot "mirror down" to casual the way you might with a friend. The clerk's politeness is fixed by the service setting. The only register move available to you is short 丁寧語.

This is why casual speech barely applies in a conbini. You stay short and polite throughout, and short is fine.

What the clerk says: phrases to recognize

This is the hard half, and the table below is the article's centerpiece. Each row maps a clerk phrase to its meaning, what it is really asking, and the short answer you give.

Each phrase is built from dictionary-attested components and a known keigo class. No single phrasebook attests every full sentence verbatim, so treat the sentences as recognizable patterns rather than fixed quotations.¹

Clerk phrase	Literal meaning	What it is really asking	Your answer
いらっしゃいませ	"Welcome" (greeting)	Nothing. It is a greeting, not a question.2	A nod, or nothing
温めますか	"Shall I warm it up?"	Heat this bentō or onigiri?3	はい、お願いします / 大丈夫です
袋はいりますか	"Do you need a bag?"	Want a (paid) plastic bag?4	はい、お願いします / 大丈夫です
レジ袋はご利用ですか	"Will you use a plastic bag?"	Same bag question, honorific form1	はい / 大丈夫です
袋にお入れしますか	"Shall I put it in a bag?"	Same bag question, humble form1	はい / 大丈夫です
お箸はお付けしますか	"Shall I include chopsticks?"	Need chopsticks, spoon, or fork?1	はい / 大丈夫です
ポイントカードはお持ちですか	"Do you have a point card?"	Have a loyalty card?1	はい / 大丈夫です（no card）
〜円になります	"That'll be 〜 yen"	The total to pay1	Hand over money
カードでお支払いですか	"Paying by card?"	Card or cash?1	カードで / 現金で
〜円お預かりします	"Out of 〜 yen"	Confirming the cash received5	Nothing; wait for change
〜円のお返しです	"Here's 〜 yen change"	Returning your change1	ありがとうございます

The flow is fixed enough to draw as a sequence. The clerk leads at every step. Your turns are the short replies on the right.

On entry: いらっしゃいませ

いらっしゃいませ is the polite form of いらっしゃい, defined by 『精選版 日本国語大辞典』 as a greeting word used to welcome an arriving customer.² It is a greeting, not a question, so it needs no spoken reply.

Morphologically, it is the 連用形 (continuative form) of いらっしゃる plus the imperative ませ of the polite auxiliary ます.² That imperative ませ makes it sound like a call directed at you rather than a statement.

いらっしゃいませ。²
"Welcome." (recognize; no reply expected)

A silent nod, or no response at all, is normal and correct. Do not say いらっしゃいませ back; it is staff-to-customer only.

あたためますか: the microwave question

温める (あたためる) means, per 『デジタル大辞泉』, あたたかくする, "to make something warm."³ 温めますか is the polite question form of this verb, asked for bentō, onigiri, and hot side dishes.

The clerk may put the item noun first, as in お弁当は温めますか. The keyword to catch is 温め; the noun in front tells you which item.

温あたためますか。³
"Shall I heat it up?" (recognize)

お弁当べんとうは温あたためますか。³
"Shall I heat up your bentō?" (recognize)

To accept, say はい、お願いします. To decline, say 大丈夫です or 結構です (see the responses section).

袋はいりますか / お付けしますか / レジ袋ご利用ですか: the bag question

The bag question comes in several register layers: plain-polite 袋はいりますか (do you need a bag), humble 袋にお入れしますか (built on the 謙譲語Ⅰ お……する frame, lowering the clerk's act of putting your goods in a bag), and the honorific-flavored レジ袋はご利用ですか.¹

The『敬語の指針』 defines 謙譲語Ⅰ as the form that elevates the person an action is directed toward. お入れする and お付けする belong to this お……する pattern.¹

袋ふくろはいりますか。⁴
"Do you need a bag?" (recognize)

レジ袋ぶくろはご利用りようですか。¹
"Will you be using a (plastic) shopping bag?" (recognize)

The clerk asks this on every transaction now because of a nationwide bag charge, covered in its own section below.⁶ Your keyword is 袋 or レジ袋; the answer is はい、お願いします or 袋は大丈夫です.

お箸／スプーンはお付けしますか: chopsticks and spoon

The utensil question uses the same お……する humble frame as the bag question: お箸はお付けしますか or スプーンはご利用ですか.¹ Listen for the nouns 箸 (chopsticks), スプーン (spoon), and フォーク (fork).

お箸はしはお付つけしますか。¹
"Shall I include chopsticks?" (recognize)

スプーンはご利用りようですか。¹
"Will you be using a spoon?" (recognize)

Catch the utensil noun, not the keigo wrapper around it. Reply with はい、お願いします or a polite decline.

ポイントカードはお持ちですか: the point-card question

お持ちですか is the honorific お……だ pattern asking whether you have a loyalty card. It raises your act of holding.¹ The『敬語の指針』 sets out the お……になる / お……だ frame as 尊敬語 used to elevate the person performing the action, here you.¹

ポイントカードはお持もちですか。¹
"Do you have a point card?" (recognize)

ポイントカードはお持もちでしょうか。¹
"Might you have a point card?" (recognize; softer)

If you have no card, the safe default is a polite decline: 大丈夫です or 結構です.⁷⁸ You do not need to name any card. The keyword to catch is ポイント.

Paying: 〜円になります, お支払いは, お預かりします, おつり

At the payment stage, the clerk states the total as 〜円になります or 〜円です. They may ask カードでお支払いですか (paying by card?), announce 〜円お預かりします when taking your cash, and return change with 〜円のお返しです.¹⁵

お預かりします uses the 謙譲語Ⅰ お……する frame on 預かる ("to receive and hold something on someone's behalf," per 『デジタル大辞泉』). This lowers the clerk's act of receiving your money.⁵¹ 〜円になります is a contested マニュアル敬語 usage, discussed in the Good to know section.

500円えんになります。¹
"That'll be 500 yen." (recognize)

カードでお支払しはらいですか。¹
"Will you be paying by card?" (recognize)

1000円えんお預あずかりします。⁵
"Out of 1,000 yen." (recognize)

200円えんのお返かえしです。¹
"Here's 200 yen change." (recognize)

The only thing you need to say here is the payment method: カードで (by card) or 現金で (by cash). Then receive your change. お預かりします and お返しです are staff forms you do not echo.

What you say: short polite responses

This is the easy half. The phrases you say are a small, closed set: all N5-level fixed forms built on です/ます.⁴

Saying yes: はい and お願いします

The yes answer to 温めますか, the bag question, or the utensil question is はい or はい、お願いします. お願いします is the polite request form. It is the conventional way to accept an offered service, and it is an N5-level fixed phrase.¹⁴

はい、お願ねがいします。⁴
"Yes, please." (produce)

お願ねがいします。⁴
"Please do." (produce)

はい alone is acceptable, but はい、お願いします is the safe full form.

Saying no politely: 大丈夫です and 結構です

There are two polite ways to say no. The difference is softness. 大丈夫です declines softly; 結構です declines more firmly.

『デジタル大辞泉』 notes in its 補説 (supplementary note) that 大丈夫 is increasingly used to politely decline an offer. It gives a model exchange where 大丈夫です carries the sense "不要", that is, "it's not needed".⁸ This is the most common, least curt polite no at a register.

大丈夫だいじょうぶです。⁸
"I'm fine, thanks." (produce; soft no)

袋ふくろは大丈夫だいじょうぶです。⁸
"No bag, thanks." (produce; soft no)

結構です is the firmer option. 『デジタル大辞泉』 gives 結構 the decline sense "それ以上必要としないさま" (no more needed), distinct from its acceptance sense "それでよいさま" (that is fine).⁷ In a decline, it reads as a polite but firm refusal.

結構けっこうです。⁷
"No, thank you." (produce; firmer)

The soft-then-firm ordering here is a reading of each word's decline sense in the dictionary, not a measured politeness scale.⁷⁸ Both are appropriate with a clerk. 大丈夫です is the everyday default.

A bare いいえ can sound blunt

いいえ on its own is grammatically correct but blunt as a standalone decline. Pair it with 大丈夫です (いいえ、大丈夫です) to soften it. Avoid いいです as a no, because it can be heard as "yes, that's fine, go ahead".⁷⁸

Asking your own questions: これください, いくらですか, トイレはどこですか

You initiate very little speech in a conbini. Use これください when handing an item to the clerk, いくらですか to ask a price, and トイレはどこですか to ask for the toilet.⁴ These three cover almost all customer-initiated speech.

これ、ください。⁴
"This one, please." (produce)

これはいくらですか。⁴
"How much is this?" (produce)

トイレはどこですか。⁴
"Where is the toilet?" (produce)

The plastic-bag charge: why you are always asked now

レジ袋有料化: the 1 July 2020 policy

A nationwide mandatory charge on plastic shopping bags (レジ袋有料化) took effect on 1 July 2020. The 経済産業省 (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, METI) and 環境省 (Ministry of the Environment) portal is titled "プラスチック製買物袋有料化 2020年7月1日スタート" (Plastic Shopping Bag Charging Starts on 1 July 2020).⁶ This is the one dated fact in the article; everything else is evergreen.

The rule applies to every retailer that hands out plastic shopping bags, according to the implementing guideline.⁹ This is why a clerk now asks about a bag in every transaction.

袋ふくろは有料ゆうりょうになります。⁶
"Bags are charged for." (recognize)

Each retailer sets its own per-bag price. The price is store-determined, not a fixed national amount.⁹ Expect a small charge, commonly a few yen, rather than one universal figure.

The bag price is set by each store, not by the rule

The METI/MOE guideline fixes only that a bag must cost at least 1 yen to count as charged; it does not set a national price.⁹ Treat the cost as a small, store-set amount of a few yen, and do not expect every store to charge the same.

Bringing your own: マイバッグ and エコバッグ

マイバッグ (literally "my bag") and エコバッグ ("eco bag") are the standard terms for a reusable shopping bag you bring to avoid the paid plastic bag. Both are wasei-eigo, English-looking words coined in Japanese. The METI/MOE campaign frames bringing one as the intended behavior change.⁹

To decline the paid bag, say 袋は大丈夫です (soft) or 袋は結構です (firmer). You can also simply state that you have your own.⁸⁷

マイバッグ、あります。⁸
"I have my own bag." (produce)

エコバッグに入いれます。⁸
"I'll put it in my own bag." (produce)

The decline phrase here reuses 大丈夫です and 結構です from the responses section. Catch 袋 or レジ袋, then answer short.

Good to know

Catch the noun, not the whole sentence

The clerk's phrasing is マニュアル敬語, a layered keigo style the『敬語の指針』 documents as counter-staff speech. It stacks forms such as 謙譲語Ⅰ お……する, honorific お……ですか, and the softening でしょうか.¹ Trying to decode レジ袋はご利用ですか word by word is how a learner freezes mid-transaction.

The basic meaning of each clerk line reduces to one keyword. Catch the noun (袋, 温め, 箸, ポイント) and answer はい or 大丈夫です. The keigo wrapper carries politeness, not extra meaning you need to parse.

バイト敬語: why some clerk phrases sound "wrong"

〜円になります and similar manual phrases are flagged as バイト敬語 (part-timer keigo) and are often criticized, yet you will hear them everywhere. The『敬語の指針』 discusses マニュアル敬語 critically, including misuse of the お……になる honorific frame.¹

For the parallel form 御注文の品はおそろいになりましたでしょうか, the document notes that "「お……になる」というのは尊敬語の形であるため" (because お……になる is an honorific form), the honorific wrongly elevates the goods rather than the customer. It recommends 以上でよろしいでしょうか instead.¹ Recognize 〜円になります and でしょうか / よろしいでしょうか as this softened confirmation register, and do not worry about whether they are "correct".

A clerk-side phrase you should not copy

お預かりします, ご利用ですか, and お入れしますか are staff humble-honorific forms, not phrases for you to say back. お預かりします and お入れしますか use the 謙譲語Ⅰ お……する frame. The『敬語の指針』 defines this as lowering the speaker's own act toward the listener.¹

The clerk uses these forms to humble the staff role toward you. As a customer, you stay in plain 丁寧語: です/ます plus はい, お願いします, and 大丈夫です.

いいです as a decline is ambiguous

Using いいです to mean "no thanks" is risky, because it can be heard as "yes, that's fine, go ahead". The unambiguous declines are 大丈夫です (soft) and 結構です (firmer).

The ambiguity is built into the words. 結構 itself carries both an acceptance sense "それでよいさま" (that is fine) and a refusal sense "それ以上必要としないさま" (no more needed), while 大丈夫 has the documented decline sense "不要" (not needed).⁷⁸ When you want to decline cleanly, reach for 大丈夫です, as in:

袋ふくろは大丈夫だいじょうぶです。⁸
"No bag, thanks."

See also

• Asking for Directions in Japanese: How to Ask, Understand the Answer, and Confirm
• Self-Introduction in Japanese (自己紹介): はじめまして to よろしく
• Keigo (敬語): A Complete Cultural Introduction to Japanese Honorific Language
• Sonkeigo (尊敬語): Respectful Language for Elevating Others
• Common Keigo Mistakes: 二重敬語 & Baito Keigo

References

Footnotes

1. 文化審議会. 『敬語の指針』（答申）. 文化庁, 2007 (平成19年2月2日). https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkashingikai/kokugo/hokoku/pdf/keigo_tosin.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴

2. 『精選版 日本国語大辞典』, 小学館.「いらっしゃいませ」の項. https://kotobank.jp/word/いらっしゃいませ-206933 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. 『デジタル大辞泉』, 小学館.「温める」の項. https://kotobank.jp/word/温める-594117 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

4. 国際交流基金・日本国際教育支援協会. 『日本語能力試験 出題基準（改訂版）』. 凡人社, 2002. (N5/旧4級語彙・文型の認定基準) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰

5. 『デジタル大辞泉』, 小学館.「預かる」の項. https://kotobank.jp/word/預かる-425148 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

6. 経済産業省・環境省. 「プラスチック製買物袋有料化 2020年7月1日スタート」. https://www.meti.go.jp/policy/recycle/plasticbag/plasticbag_top.html ↩ ↩² ↩³

7. 『デジタル大辞泉』, 小学館.「結構」の項. https://kotobank.jp/word/結構-490460 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

8. 『デジタル大辞泉』, 小学館.「大丈夫」の項. https://kotobank.jp/word/大丈夫-557414 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹

9. 経済産業省・環境省. 『プラスチック製買物袋有料化実施ガイドライン』(令和元年12月). https://www.meti.go.jp/policy/recycle/plasticbag/document/guideline.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴