Delicate Expressions Created from Japanese Characters
One of the outstanding characteristics of Japanese grammar may well be that the verb comes at the end of the sentence. In the case of English and Chinese, the verb comes after the subject so that people can guess what the speaker wants to say. However, in Japanese you cannot understand the full meaning of the sentence until you hear the end.
When you hear “Konya (tonight) watashi wa (I) kanojo (her) to (with) deeto (date) wo …” you will not know until you hear the end whether it ends up in “suru” (do) or “shinai” (don’t) or whether it continues as “suru (do) tsumori (will) daga (but) …”
Non-Japanese people often point out that Japanese do not clearly express their opinions. This is largely due to the structure of the Japanese language, but it seems due in an even greater degree to the Japanese character. The Japanese were originally an agricultural race and group work was very often taking place in society. To maintain good relations with others, it was — and still is — important to avoid using words that may hurt others. It is believed that vague and indirect expressions have come into use at the end of sentences because of this.
English is practical and logical. Subtle nuances are expressed through voice tones and facial expressions. Wile non-Japanese also point out that Japanese have less intonation than westerners and show less of their emotions. But the abundance of endings to Japanese sentences must make up for this. When their Japanese improves, learners will be attracted to nihongo, which is delicate and rich in expressions. In fact, the difference between English and Japanese may be described as the difference between flat American foods, of which the taste is often flavored by toppings, and delicately cooked Japanese foods.