Would you like onion?

Japanese translation: 玉ねぎはいかがですか？

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

English term or phrase:	Would you like onion?
Japanese translation:	玉ねぎはいかがですか？
Entered by:	Troy Fowler

06:14 May 6, 2004

English to Japanese translations [Non-PRO]
Tourism & Travel

English term or phrase: Would you like onion?

For tourists, that come into my restaurant and order hamburgers.

Adam

Tamanegi wa ikaga desuka

Explanation:
As mamifukute mentioned in a note to the first response, 'Tamanegi wa ikaga desuka?' would work. In everyday speech, the 'wa' can be removed, yielding 'Tamanegi ikaga desuka?' I think it sounds more natural without the 'wa.'

You can also say, 'Tamanegi irimasuka?'

Here are the phrases in Japanese:
Tamanegi ikaga desuka？　たまねぎいかがですか？
Tamanegi irimasuka?　たまねぎいりますか？

An after thought: with Japanese tourists, I would be more concerned about the pickles (pikkurusu).

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 26 mins (2004-05-07 06:41:32 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Go with the ¥'ikaga desuka¥' version...its more appropriate for customers.

Selected response from:

Troy Fowler
United States
Local time: 15:21

Grading comment

Graded automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

5 +5

Tamanegi wa ikaga desuka

Troy Fowler

tamanegi wa dou itashimasu ka?

dilum

Answers

3 hrs confidence:

would you like onion? tamanegi wa dou itashimasu ka?

Explanation:
Onion is tama negi (round-shaped onion)in Japanese. Negi means leeks and Japanese tourists may misunderstand if this asker says 'negi' for onion. Also, I guess the asker wants to know whether tourists like to have onion put in hamburger or not, with this question 'would you like onion?' So, it should be 'dou itashimasu ka?' which is 'how would you like for onion to be done? '. If the asker expects that the tourists will order onion(chips?) additionally, it should be 'tama negi mo ikagade shou ka?' which is 'would you like to order onion additionally?' Anyway, for tourists or visitors coming to restaurant, polite style like 'dou itashimasu ka?' or 'ikagade shou ka?' should be used for serving.

dilum
Local time: 03:51
Native speaker of:

Sinhala (Sinhalese),

Japanese

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

disagree

jsl (X): The translation provided is that of "How would you like onion?", which is different from "Would you like onion?".

1 hr

neutral

Will Matter: WITH Daisuke.

5 hrs

disagree

Kurt Hammond: In addition to others comments: To me, this wording sounds burdensome - as if I'm being forced to make a decision. "Ikaga desuka" is lighter and less intrusive. For 'dou itashimasuka" i feel as if I am making an important decision.

1 day 3 hrs

agree

Langaid (X): I think we can be a little more flexible in this situation, especially this is 'spoken' Japanese and the conversation is taking place in a hamburger place. I'm sure some Japanese would use this phrase in conversation and it is absolutely acceptable.

4 days

agree

koinobori: I think this is the best answer as the asker wants to know if the tourists want onion or not.