How to ask for a haircut in Japanese

Welcome back to another “Video & Article” series with tutor Wakako. In this article and video we will talk about asking for a haircut in Japanese. If you live in Japan, have you ever been afraid of going to the hairdresser because you might get your Japanese wrong? No more!

Table of Contents
[Introduction]
[How to ask for your haircut in Japanese]

[Introduction]

Do you live in Japan or plan on living in Japan in the future? If yes, you may at some point end up having to visit a hair salon. So we’re introducing some useful expressions to order your haircut or hairstyle in Japanese.

[How to ask for your haircut in Japanese]

美容院びよういんで使つかう言葉ことばは、英語えいごから来きたものがたくさんあります。でも、日本語にほんごでは、発音はつおんが少すこし違ちがいます。 There are many hairstyle related words which came from English, but the Japanese pronunciation of these words is slightly different from the original English words.

When you first go to the salon, you will most likely say you what want to have done in general. You could say:

カットをお願ねがいします。

I’d like it [my hair] cut please.

パーマをお願ねがいします。

I would like a perm please.

“カット” obviously means “cut”, but the pronunciation is slightly different from the English word.

The important rule to remember here for correct pronunciation is that Japanese words cannot end on a consonant, except for the “ん” sound. Therefore, a word always needs a vowel sound at the end of it. Subsequently “カット” is not pronounciated “cut”, but has the “o” sound at the end of it, making it “catto”.

The same logic is used with the word “パーマ” when asking for a perm. Perm needs the “a” sound at the end, making it “paama”.

Of course the easiest way to order a hairstyle is to show a photo of the hairstyle you want to have. In that case, you can say:

この写真しゃしんみたいにしてください。

Please make it look like in this picture.

If you just want your hair trimmed you can say:

毛先けさきをそろえる程度ていどにしてください。

Please just trim the tips of my hair.

“毛先けさき” means “hair tip/ends” and “そろえる” means “to trim” in this context. Your bangs or fringe are an important part of your hairstyle because they strongly impact what your entire face looks like. So the hair dresser at the salon will probably ask:

前髪まえがみはどうしますか？

What would you like to do with your bangs/fringe?

“前髪まえがみ” means bangs/fringe. To this you could reply:

目めにかからないようにしてください。

Please cut it so it doesn’t reach my eyes.

“かかる” in this context means “to reach” and “かからない” is the negative formof “かかる”.

眉毛まゆげが出ないようにしてください。

Please cut it so it covers my eyebrows.

“眉毛まゆげ” means “eyebrows”.

まっすぐに切きってください。

Please cut it straight.

“まっすぐ” means “straight”.

横よこに流ながれるようにしてください。

Please cut them so they fade over into my hair at the sides.

If you have short hair, you may want to use the following phrase:

耳みみにかからないようにしてください。

Please cut the sides not to cover my ears.

段だんを入いれてくれますか？

Can you layer my hair?

“段だん” means “layer”.

毛もうの量りょうを減へらしてもらえますか？

Can you thin out my hair?

“毛もうの量りょう” refers to the amount of hair and “減へらす” means to reduce. If you have long hair, you can give instructions regarding the length with these phrases:

肩かたの長ながさにしてください。

I’d like to have my hair cut to shoulder length.

“肩かたの長ながさ” means “shoulder length”.

xx cm切きってください。

Please cut off xx cm off the length.

If you are aiming for something more special like a perm, you can try using the following phrases:

緩ゆるくかけてください。

I’d like to have loose curls.

毛先けさきだけかけてください。

Please only curl the lower part of my hair.

ストレートパーマをかけてください。

I’d like to get a straight perm.

Here again, please be aware of the pronunciation of “ストレートパーマ”. It is “sutoreeto paama”. That is all for today's lesson. If you have any questions you can always clear them up by booking a lesson with one of our native Japanese tutors. See you next time!

単語たんごリスト（Vocabulary list）

美容院びよういん	Hair salon
役やくに立たつ	To be helpful
カットする	To cut (hair)
切きる	To cut
パーマをかける	To have a perm done
毛先けさき	Tip of one’s hair, hair ends
程度ていど	Degree, amount
前髪まえがみ	Fringe, bangs
眉毛まゆげ	Eyebrow
真まっすぐ	Straight
横よこ	Side, horizontal
流ながれる	To stream, to flow
段だん	Layer
毛量もうりょう（毛もうの量りょう）	Amount of hair
減へらす	Reduce, decrease
肩かた	Shoulder
緩ゆるく	Loose, soft