Answering Audience Questions in Japanese After a Talk
Learn intermediate Japanese phrases for handling Q&A after a presentation: acknowledging questions, buying time, giving opinions, and politely handling ones you cannot answer.
By TheaFirst conversations · Yapr Learn
After a presentation, the question-and-answer session often decides how your talk is remembered. In Japanese, Q&A has its own polite formulas: you acknowledge the question before answering, you may repeat it briefly so everyone hears, and you soften opinions with expressions like to omoimasu. This lesson gives you ready-made phrases for acknowledging, clarifying, answering, and deferring questions, plus a short model exchange and practice. It focuses only on Q&A, not on structuring a presentation.
By the end, you can…
- acknowledge an audience question politely before answering.
- ask a speaker to repeat or clarify a question.
- give a short opinion in Q&A using to omoimasu.
- politely say I do not know and offer to follow up later.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
はい、いい質問ですね。
Yes, that's a good question.
Hai, ii shitsumon desu ne.
A warm, neutral way to acknowledge a question before you answer. Common in Q&A after talks. Note: いい here means 'good' in the sense of 'a fine/apt question'; it is a set phrase, not a literal compliment.
すみません、もう一度お願いできますか。
Sorry, could you say that again?
Sumimasen, mō ichido onegai dekimasu ka.
Polite request to repeat a question you did not catch. Use with a slight bow or attentive posture.
つまり、〜ということですね。
So you mean that ..., right?
Tsumari, ... to iu koto desu ne.
Paraphrase the question to confirm understanding and let the whole room hear it. つまり ('in other words') introduces your restatement; the 〜 slot is filled by a plain-form clause plus ということ, e.g. 費用が高いということですね.
〜と思います。
I think that ...
... to omoimasu.
Standard softened opinion ending. Attach to a plain-form clause, e.g. 大切だと思います (taisetsu da to omoimasu). With i-adjectives the plain form needs no だ: 高いと思います (takai to omoimasu), not 高いだと思います.
申し訳ありません、その点はすぐにはお答えできません。
I'm sorry, I can't answer that point right away.
Mōshiwake arimasen, sono ten wa sugu ni wa okotae dekimasen.
Formal, safe way to decline an answer without sounding dismissive. Follow with an offer to follow up.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
A reliable Q&A answer has three moves: acknowledge, confirm, answer. For example: 「はい、いい質問ですね。つまり、費用についてですね。私は少し高いと思います。」 (Hai, ii shitsumon desu ne. Tsumari, hiyō ni tsuite desu ne. Watashi wa sukoshi takai to omoimasu.) The clause before と思います (to omoimasu) stays in plain form: 高い (takai), not 高いです (takai desu). Note that i-adjectives take no だ in plain form, so it is 高いと思います, not 高いだと思います; na-adjectives and nouns do take だ, as in 大切だと思います (taisetsu da to omoimasu). This keeps your opinion soft but clear.
When to use it
Use いい質問ですね (ii shitsumon desu ne) for genuine or routine questions; it buys a moment and sounds appreciative. Use すみません、もう一度お願いできますか (sumimasen, mō ichido onegai dekimasu ka) when the room is noisy or the question was fast. If you need time, say 少し考えさせてください (sukoshi kangaesasete kudasai, 'please let me think for a moment'). If you truly do not know, use the formal refusal above and add 後ほどメールでお答えします (nochihodo mēru de okotae shimasu, 'I will answer by email later'). In very formal settings, 後ほどメールでご回答いたします (nochihodo mēru de gokaitō itashimasu) is even more deferential.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
ご発表、ありがとうございました。一つ質問してもよろしいでしょうか。
Thank you for your presentation. May I ask one question?Go-happyō, arigatō gozaimashita. Hitotsu shitsumon shite mo yoroshii deshō ka.はい、どうぞ。いい質問ですね。
Yes, please go ahead.Hai, dōzo.この方法は、小さいチームにも使えますか。
Can this method be used for small teams too?Kono hōhō wa, chiisai chīmu ni mo tsukaemasu ka.つまり、小さいチームでも使えるか、ですね。はい、使えると思います。ただし、準備に時間がかかります。
So you're asking whether it can be used for small teams too, right? Yes, I think it can. However, preparation takes time.Tsumari, chiisai chīmu de mo tsukaeru ka, desu ne. Hai, tsukaeru to omoimasu. Tadashi, junbi ni jikan ga kakarimasu.A little context goes a long way
In Japanese Q&A, acknowledging the questioner before answering is expected; jumping straight to an answer can feel abrupt. Politeness also rises when you decline: 申し訳ありません (mōshiwake arimasen) is more formal than すみません (sumimasen). If the session is formal, use です・ます (desu/masu) throughout, even if the presentation itself was casual. Note that いい質問ですね is a conventional courtesy; it is used even for ordinary questions and is not necessarily a judgment that the question is unusually good.
One thing to watch for
Answering immediately with 高いですと思います (takai desu to omoimasu).
Try this instead: Before と思います (to omoimasu), use plain form, not polite form: 高いと思います (takai to omoimasu, 'I think it is expensive'). The polite ending です (desu) already appears in と思います, so you do not need it twice. Remember that i-adjectives take no だ in plain form, so 高いだと思います is also wrong; only na-adjectives and nouns take だ (大切だと思います).
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you politely ask a questioner to repeat their question?
Show a sample answer
すみません、もう一度お願いできますか。
This uses すみません to soften the request and お願いできますか for polite asking. もう一度お願いします is also acceptable but slightly less polite.
2Turn この方法は大切です (kono hōhō wa taisetsu desu) into a softened opinion for Q&A.
Show a sample answer
この方法は大切だと思います。
Change です to plain だ before と思います. だ is needed here because 大切 is a na-adjective. In more formal writing, 大切であると思います is also possible.
3You do not know the answer. What is a polite response?
Show a sample answer
申し訳ありません、その点はすぐにはお答えできません。後ほどメールでお答えします。
This declines politely and offers follow-up. すみません instead of 申し訳ありません is fine in casual settings.
In Japanese Q&A, acknowledge first, confirm the question, then answer with a softened と思います; if you cannot answer, decline politely and promise follow-up.
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