:maggie-small: 「ポイント貯めてる？」
=Pointo tameteru?
=Have you been accumulating points?
This is a request lesson about how to sign up for a store member’s card in Japan.
I made a shopping lesson a while ago. One thing that I didn’t cover wasメンバーズカード( = menbaazu kaado) member’s card or ポイントカード ( = pointo caad) “point card”
Many shops, such as drug stores, CD shops, massage parlors, cosmetic stores, home electronics stores, beauty salons, spas, etc. try to lure their customers back with メンバーズカード(=menbaazu kaado) members card or ポイントカード(=pointo caad) “point card”=a reward card with lots of benefits.
The system is very simple. Once you sign up for a membership card or point card, you can get a discount,
会員割引 = kaiin waribki = discount for members
or if you become a frequent customer, you can ポイントを貯める=pointo wo tameru, accumulate points, and you will get a prize or bigger discount. The store’s hope is that once we become members, we become their loyal customers and will come back again and again for the points.
Since the procedure is very easy, we make a member’s card here and there and end up having loooots of cards in our wallets. Look at my bulging wallet!
(* Some stores demand an annual fee 年会費 = nenkaihi to be their privileged member.)
You don’t actually need to talk so much in order to get a card made but you need to understand what they are talking about.
Here’s a typical conversation at a store. Usually when you pay for your purchase they ask,
↓
「当店のポイントカード(or メンバーズカード）はもうお持ちですか？」
=Touten no point caado wa mou omochi desu ka?
=Do you already have our “point-card”?
If you do, you just say,
「はい、持っています。」
=Hai motte imasu.
=Yes, I do.
and take it out. How simple is that!?
If you get a certain amount of points, they’ll say,
ポイントが＊＊(Ex. 100) 点になりましたのでこちらを差し上げます。/今日は￥***(Ex. ¥2,000)にさせて頂きます。
=Pointo ga **(Ex. hyaku en) ten ni narimashita node kochira wo sashiagemasu./Kyouwa ¥*** (Ex. nisen en)ni sasete itadakimasu.
=You reached ** points so here’s your present. / It will be only ¥*** for you.
But if you don’t have one, you say,
「いいえ、持っていません。」
=Iie motte imasen.
=No, I don’t.
If you don’t need one, just say,
「いえ、結構です。」
=Ie kekkou desu.
=No thank you.
「今、ちょっと時間がないのでまたにします。」
=Ima chotto jikan ga nai node mata ni shimasu.
=I’m in a hurry now so maybe next time.
「こちらの方に(は)あまり来ないので…（いいです。/結構です。）」
=Kochira no hou ni (wa) amari konai node..(iidesu/kekkou desu.)
=(Sorry but) I don’t come to this area so often so… (No thank you.)
If you show interest in becoming a member, they will explain HOW GREAT to be their members.
「そうですか。只今、当店のメンバーにご登録して頂きますと..
=Soudesuka. Tadaima touten no menbaa ni gotouroku shite itadakimasuto..
=OK, then if you become our member now, you will…
•只今 = tadaima = now
•当店 = touten = our store
•登録する = to be a member, to register
•ご登録して頂くと..
=gotouroku shite itadaku to
=if you become a member (polite)
****という特典がございます。」
=****toiu tokuten ga gozaimasu. (polite)
=You can get **** as benefit.
•特典 = tokuten = a perk, benefit, special service
Ex. 当店でのお買い物がサービス品以外５％引きになります。
=Touten deno okaimono saabisu hin igai go paasento biki ni narimasu.
=You can get 5% off all your purchases at our store not including sales items.
Ex.１０回のご来店で次の１回分が無料となります。
=Jukkai no goraiten de ikkai bun muryou to narimasu.
= If you come to our store ten times, the next visit will be free.)
Ex. ポイントが一杯になりますと粗品を差し上げます。
=Pointo ga ippai ni narimasu to soshina wo sashiagemasu.
=If you fill all the card, we will give you a present.
•一杯になる=Ippai ni naru=to be filled
•粗品 = soshina = a present (humble expression of the gift. The direct translation is the poor article.)
After they explain how beneficial it is to be a member, they will ask you,
「簡単に出来ますので今、お作りしてもよろしいでしょうか？」
=Kantan ni dekimasu node ima otsukuri shite mo yoroshii deshouka?
=It will be done so easily so could I make one for you now?
「お時間、３分程でできますのでお作りしても宜しいでしょうか？」
=Ojikan sanpun hodo de dekimasu node otsukuri shite mo yoroshii deshouka?
=It will only take three minutes so could I make one for you?
Do you want one? Then say,
「はい、じゃあお願いします。」
=Hai jaa onegai shimasu.
=Yes, please.
Then they will bring you a form,
「それではこちらにご記入頂けますでしょうか？」
= Soredewa kochira ni gokinyuu itadakemasu de shou ka?
= Could you fill this out, please?
•記入する = kinyuu suru→(more polite)ご記入する = gokinyu suru = to fill out
＜How to fill the form> 記入方法=kinyuu houhou
★お名前 = Onamae = name
★氏名 = shimei = name (full name)
★名字 = myouji = family name
★名前 = namae = name or first name
★ふりがな = in hiragana or katakana (Some kanji have two or three possible readings so we always have to write the furigana so we know how to read your name and addresses.)
★生年月日 = seinen gappi = birth year/ month/date
★年齢 = nenrei = age
★性別 = seibetsu = gender
You mark one of them!?
→男 = otoko = a man
→女 = onna = a woman
★御職業 = goshokugyou = your job
★会社名 = kaishamei = company name
★御住所 = gojuusho = your address
★メールアドレス=meiru adoresu=email address
★当店よりセール等のDM、ご案内をお送りしても宜しいでしょうか？
=Touten yori seeru tou no diiemu, goannai wo ookuri shite mo yoroshii deshouka?
= Can we send advertisements or updated information to your address (or email)?
→はい = hai = Yes
→いいえ = iie = No
Usually, they don’t expect you to fill out the whole thing. If you don’t want to write certain things, just leave them in blank.
Then show it to them saying,
•「これでいいですか？」
=Kore de ii desu ka?
=Is this all right?/Did I do it right?
•「ここは書かなくてもいいですか？」
=Koko wa kakanakute mo ii desu ka?
=Is it OK if I don’t fill out this part?
•「全部書かなければいけませんか？」
=Zenbu kakanakereba ikemasen ka?
=Do I have to fill out everything?
Then they will tell you what you need to fill in.
Ex.「いえ、お名前とお電話番号だけで結構です。」
=Ie onamae to odenwa bangou dake de kekkou desu.
=That’s OK. Just give us your name and your phone number, please.
If it is OK, they will say,
「はい、結構です。」
=Hai kekkou desu.
=Yes, no problem
They will ask you to sign in the form.
「こちらの方にご署名下さい。」
=Kochira no hou ni goshomei kudasai.
=Please sign here.
（Note : Handling 個人情報 = kojin jouhou = personal information has been very strict in Japan. So they may ask you to read through an agreement to let them use your personal information for their customer list and ask you to sign the paper.)
Once they make the new card, they’ll hand it to you saying
「それではこちらのカードをお渡し致します。本日から１年間有効となります。」
=Soredewa kochira no kaado wo owatshi itashitaimasu. Honjitsu kara ichinen kan yuukou to narimasu.
=Here’s your card. It will expire a year from today.
•有効 = yuukou = valid
•本日 = honjitsu = this day (a bit formal than 今日=kyou=today)
or
•「有効期限は本日から１年間となっております。」
=Yuukou kigen wa honjitsu kara ichinenkan to natte orimasu.
=The expiration date is a year starting from today.
•「本日から早速ご利用頂けます。」
=Honjitsu kara sassoku goriyou itadakemasu.
=You can use it from today.
•早速 = sassoku = soon
•利用 = riyou = to use →(polite) ご利用 = goriyou
They might ask you to sign up from your mobile phone.
•携帯サイトからご登録下さい。
=Keitai saito kara gotouroku kudasai.
=Please register from our website for mobile phones.
📝 Culture note:
Companies offer point cards or members’ cards to improve customer loyalty and we love to get discounts and prizes so it is a very convenient system. It’s like frequent flier miles.
Not just stores but most credit card companies offer ポイントサービス(=pointo saabisu).
Using credit card customers are also often rewarded for using their credit cards with points and prizes.
マギー先生より=Maggie sensei yori, From Maggie Sensei
このサイトに一日に１回来たら１ポイントあげます。1000ポイント貯まったらキスしてあげる！
=Kono saito ni ichinichi ni ikkai kitara ichipointo agemasu. Sen pointo tamattara kissu shite ageru.
If you come to this site once a day, I will give you one point. If you get 1,000 points I will give you a big kiss!
I made this lesson for my loyal student, Top-san! Hope it helps 😀
***
Will you be my Patron?
I appreciate your support! サポートありがとう！
29 Comments
Hi maggie sensei, I want to better understand the sentence, “ネットで登録しましたが、カードを発行して頂けますか？”
I just started studying Japanese so please excuse me for any dumb questions. xD
What exactly does しましたが mean? Or what verb or form does it derive from? And what is the difference between using the term, 発行 and つくりwhen asking for them to make you a card?
@Louisa
Hi Louisa,
Sure.
ネットで登録しましたが、カードを発行して頂けますか？
ネットで on net
登録しましたが(touroku shimashitaga) I have registered but..( 〜しました= have done/ did)
カード(kaado) shop card
を(wo) an object marker
発行する(hakkou suru) issue, make (You can also say 作って頂けますか？）
〜して頂けますか？(=Shite itadakemasuka) Polite form to ask someone for a favor, Could you?
Hi Maggie, first off, thank you so much for all your wonderful lessons! They have been so helpful. C:
I have a question regarding point cards. What if you already registered for a point card online but now you want to have them make you a physical card in store? For example, Club Animate allows you to do that.
How do I ask for a physical card without confusing them with registering for a new card? Keep in mind, I’ll be pointing to a barcode on my cellphone as proof of my registration.
Thank you in advance!
@Louisa
Thank YOU for visiting here,too!
You can show that and tell them,
ネットで登録しましたが、カードを発行して頂けますか？
= Netto de touroku shimashitaga, kaado wo hakkou shite itadakemasu ka?
= I registered this on net but could you make a card please?
Thank you, Maggie-sensei! ^^
@Louisa
You’re welcome, Louisa! :)
このレッスンはとても役に立っています！あるがとうございます、マギー先生！
日本語を４年間くらい勉強しているけど、日本に留学に行く時、店人さんが何を言っているか聞き取れなくて少し困ったんです。
敬語は少しだけ話せるけど、レジで店人さんは早口で敬語で話して私が分からなくて恥ずかしかったんです。何も言わずに首を横に降って。。。
このレッスンはすごく助かってありがとう（＾＾）
@Lava
このレッスンが役に立つと聞いて嬉しいです。
レジで店員さんが早口で話すので何を言っているかわからないという人は多いみたいですね。今度、日本でお買い物をする時は是非、何を言っているか聞き取ってみて下さいね。
（A little correction : このレッスンはすごく助かります。or このレッスンはすごく役に立ちます。+ ありがとう ）
and どういたしまして！:)
Hi Maggie Sensei,
I just moved to Japan and even though I took Japanese for three years in college, I`ve still had a lot of trouble communicating/understanding others while I`ve been here. I hate relying on other people (like friends and coworkers) to help me with daily life, so I`m trying really hard to study Japanese even more in order to speak like a native Japanese person would as best as I can. I stumbled upon your website while researching a grammer point, and after briefly skimming through the site, I am very happy that I came across it. It seems wonderful and I can`t wait to go through all your lessons and videos when I get home after work. Just wanted to say thanks so much for helping all of us out. It`s really nice to learn all this informal stuff like slang and how to get through an everyday type of activity like signing up for a points card. If only they taught us how to say stuff like this back in school -_-
Sincerey,
Naz
@Naz
Hello Naz! Welcome to Japan and our site!
There are many lessons here (I am sorry but I don’t make videos..) so hope you visit here often and enjoy learning Japanese with us.
OK now you live in Japan, your wallet will be full of “point cards” soon. Be careful! :)
Sensei, one last question for today. :)
それではこちらにご記入頂けますでしょうか？
=Could you fill this out, please?
Itadaku is one of those words that sometimes cause me some trouble. I know sensei has a lesson for “itadaku” and I am close to getting there. :) I thought maybe by sensei explaining this sentence to me it would help in having a better understanding going to that lesson.
My doubt regarding “itadaku” is to whom the action is directed, who “receives the action”. I am not sure to which of these two the action is directed, taking the above sentence as subject:
1) Can I receive the filling of this form from you? = Would you fill me this form I require from you? (The attendant kindly asks the costumer to make her the favor of filling the form. Spanish: ¿Podrías llenarme esta forma?)
2) Could you fill this form for your own sake? (Spanish: ¿Podrías llenarte esta forma?)
Which of these two would be the sentence that more or less translates the feeling of the sentence in Japanese, sensei?
Sensei, I may have not explained myself very well, hopefully sensei understood, if that wasn’t the case I could try explaining myself better. :)
@NecroMadMat
Yes, 頂く is used when you receive some action from someone.
In this case, it will be 1) Would you fill out the form for me? So you the speaker receives an action of filling out the form form the customer.
Your Spanish sentence explains better.
So if you ask me to teach you Japanese, how would you ask me politely? Hehehe
Sensei, I sometimes try to used Spanish as a method to learn Japanese. English and Spanish are my tools. XD
hmm, やってみますよね！
えーと。。。マギー先生には日本語を教えていただけますでしょうか？
先生が直すかどうかのため緊張しています。 ^^’
Sensei, my deepest apologies for mutilating the Japanese language. XD
@NecroMadMat
Good job! Just change the first part
If you are talking to me and say “Could you teach me Japanese, Maggie Sensei?”
マギー先生、日本語を教えて頂けますでしょうか？
And “I would like Maggie sensei to teach me Japanese” is
マギー先生に日本語を教えて頂きたいです。
No need to apologize. You did very well!
(Ah it will be more natural to use a passive form here : 先生に直されるかどうか緊張しています。）
That definitely seems more natural, sensei. :) I learned a lot. Thank you.
Thanks Maggie and aloha from Hawaii!
@japandish
Love Hawaii!!
Mahalo!
Great lesson! The only point card I have from Japan is for Tower Records. Maybe one day I’ll reach the reward!
@japandish
Thank you!! You should check its 有効期限=yukou kigen=expiration date!
BTW You have great pictures on your site!
Thank you so very much Maggie sensei^^
I’m speechless…
Yes..I will keep studying these.
I also have many more questions, but I’ll ask you again next time.
Much love and respect^^
@Top-san
You are very welcome! どういたしまして！ Anytime!
Maggie sensei^^
Thank you so so much for this. I appreciate it^^
@Top
My pleasure! I just added the sound files now.
As for your last question, いいじゃん、now I think of it, there is one more usage that I forgot to write.
We say 〜(れ)ばいいじゃん=~(re)ba iijan when we suggest something.
Ex. 行けばいいじゃん=ikeba iijan=Why don’t you go? I thin you should go!
Ex. 日本語が出来ないならもっと勉強すればいいじゃん=Nihongo ga dekinai nara benkyou sureba iijan=If you are not good at Japanese, why don’t you study more?/I think you should study more.
Either way, they are very casual.
Thank you so much, Maggie sensei^^ It really helps a lot. What if they don’t ask you first and you want to sign up? Could I say, ” すみません、メンバッズカッドをサインしたいんですが…。
If you have time, please make a couple of sound files too. Only if you have time though…お願いします。
Oh one more question. What’s the meaning of いいじゃん！at the end of a sentence? What’s the purpose of using this?
Sorry to bother you with many questions.ごめんなさい。
Thank you so so much again, Maggie sensei..
@Top,
Oh, I sorry! I should have included that information,
If you want to have a member’s card or “point card” you say,
「すみません。メンバーズカード(or ポイントカード）を作りたいんですが。」
=Sumimasen. Menbaazu kaado (or pointo caado) wo tsukuritain desuga.”
Excuse me. I would like to make a member’s card (or point card.)
or
「すみません。メンバーズカード(or ポイントカード）を作るにはどうしたらいいですか？」
=Sumimasen. Manbaazu kaado (or pointo caado) wo tsukuru niwa doushitara iidesuka?
=Excuse me. How can I get a member’s card (or point card.)
or
「メンバーズカード(or ポイントカード）をまだ持っていないのですが、すぐ、作れますか？」
=Menbaazu kaado (or pointo kaado) wo mada motte inaino desu ga sugu tsukurenasuka?
=I still don’t have a member’s card (or point card). Is it possible for you to make one for me now?
* じゃん(jan) is a very casual ending. ~ではないですか。~ではありませんか。
そうではないですか。Oh that’s right. →そうじゃん。
おいしいですね。It’s delicious, isn’t it?→おいしいじゃん。
いいですね。It’s good, isn’t it? →いいじゃん。
Ex. この車買ったの。(=Kono kuruma katta no) I bought this car.
へえ、いいじゃん。(=Hee iijan!) Oh it looks nice, isn’t it?
So instead of saying いいではないですか！young people (or even older people) say いいじゃん. It sounds light and still emphasizes the quote. in their way.
We hear this ending, じゃん all the time on the street.
*Sure I will make sound files soon. Please wait!
Wow, I wish this lesson existed when I first arrived in Japan! So much useful information.
But what should I do to cancel a point card? ^_^;
@starsandsea
Hello!! Thank you for your comment. How to cancel a point card? Usually we don’t cancel it because unlike regular credit card they don’t charge anything and it expires in a year. I just throw them away if I don’t need them anymore. But if you want, say
すみません。これキャンセルしたいんですが..
=Sumimasen kore kyanseru shitain desuga…
=Excuse me but I would like to cancel this.
このカードキャンセルして頂けますか？
=Kono kaado kyanseru shite itadakemasu ka?
=Could you cancel this card, please?
And show the card to the clerk.
Does it help?
Thank you Maggie-sensei:
this is going to be very useful for me in the future.
@Laura,
Are you going to make lots of store cards when you are here?