Tips for living in Japan

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April 5, 2024Japanese TPOgs-webmaster

Expressions that Also Have a Contradictory Meaning

“Sumimasen” is an expression for “Excuse me,” or “I’m sorry,” but it is used to mean the opposite: “Thank you.” For instance, when you give up a seat to someone on a train, and the person says “sumimasen,” they mean “Thank you.” “Kekkou” has two meanings: “ii desu ne” and “irimasen.” If you say, “kore […]

March 3, 2024Japanese TPOgs-webmaster

How Do You Refer to Relations between “Men” and “Women”?

In media reports men are generally referred to as “dansei,” and women as “josei.” However, when reporting about criminal suspects, rather than dansei, “otoko” is used, and rather than josei, “onna.” In normal conversation, many people use “otoko no hito” and “onna no hito.” In the entrances of toilets you will find “male” and “female” […]

March 2, 2024Japanese TPOgs-webmaster

Japanese Words Incorporated into English

There are many Japanese words that have been incorporated into English. Among these, words related to traditional Japanese culture make up the majority. Bonsai, ikebana, origami, and haiku are well known. In entertainment there are kabuki, noh, and bunraku. In sports there are sumo, judo, karate, and aikido. The others include, Zen, Shinto, shiatsu, tatami, […]

March 1, 2024Japanese TPOgs-webmaster

Phone Etiquette for Business

Used for business calls, for example, making a phone call to a client, Japanese generally speak as follows: “Watashi wa ABC sha no Satou to moushimasu. Osewani natte orimasu. Tanaka san wa irasshaimasu ka.” *This means: “This is Sato of ABC company. Is Mr. Tanaka there?” When you say your name, it is better to […]

February 28, 2024Japanese TPOgs-webmaster

Japanese Words that Resemble English Words

In Japanese there are many words made from English.In order to make them, there are various patterns. Examples that omit the latter parts of long words: building → ビル (biru = buil) (cash) register → レジ (reji = regi) celebrity → セレブ (serebu = celeb) infrastructure → インフラ (infura = infra) maniac → マニア (mania […]

February 27, 2024Japanese TPOgs-webmaster

Japanese Don’t Say “I Love You”

When you translate English into Japanese, there are many ways to express this. For instance, “I love you.” The conventional translation is, “Watashi wa anata o aishite imasu.” However, few Japanese actually use this expression.This is a textbook translation, but Japanese would be rather embarrassed to use these words. Rather, people use the expressions: “Anata […]

February 25, 2024Japanese TPOgs-webmaster

Expressions for Laughter

These days, people have begun to use emoticons in emails to show that they are smiling. In Japanese there are expressions to convey laughter through words. For example, “Kare wa ‘hahaha’ to waraimashita.” (He laughed “hahaha.”) “Hahaha” signifies cheerful laughter. “Hihihi” is used when the laughter is rather weird. “Fufufu” is an expression used by […]

February 24, 2024Japanese TPOgs-webmaster

Japanese Prefer Vague Expressions

Japanese have a culture of being vague when it comes to expressing their opinions. As illustrated by the following, in the Japanese language there are many expressions that avoid arriving at a conclusion: “Sono teian, yosasou desu ne.” (That sounds good). “Sono teian ii kamo.” (That suggestion may be good). “~ sou” or “~ kamo” […]

February 24, 2024Japanese TPOgs-webmaster

Expressions Unique to Japanese Are Difficult to Translate

Most Japanese business emails begin with the following: くは次の言葉で始まります。“Osewa ni natte orimasu.” “Itsumo osewa ni natte orimasu.” Many emails end with the following expression: “Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu,” or “Kongo tomo yoroshiku onegai shimasu.” You use the following expressions with those who are struggling with an issue, related perhaps to a job, study or sports.“Ganbatte,” or […]

February 22, 2024Japanese TPOgs-webmaster

“Feminine Expressions” that Women do not Use

Someone said, “Kore, ii wane” (This is nice). Can you tell who said this? Was it a man or a woman? Japanese can easily tell that this is a woman. Attached to the endings of sentences, words like “wa,” “dawa,” “yone,” “none,” “kashira” are generally regarded as being “female expressions. For instance, when using “kirei,” […]

February 21, 2020Japanese TPOgs-webmaster

Japanese Expressions that Cause Misunderstandings

Sometimes Japanese expressions are not meant to be understood verbatim. For instance, after presenting a product, a salesman from a foreign company was told by his Japanese contact, that “Watashi ha subarashii to omoimasu ga, shanai de kentou shite mimasu.” (I think this is wonderful, but I will consider it with my colleagues.) On hearing […]

February 19, 2020Japanese TPOgs-webmaster

“You” is not the only translation of “Anata”

Japanese has a rich vocabulary compared to English, but it can convey delicate nuance. For instance, the English word “you” is generally translated as “anata,” but in actual conversation, many other words are used. Sentence endings also vary in accordance with this. “Anata ha ima isogashii desu ka” (Are you busy now?) is used as […]