Tips for living in Japan

March 5, 2020Japanese TPOSuper-J

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, 2020Japanese TPOSuper-J

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, 2020Japanese TPOSuper-J

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, 2020Japanese TPOSuper-J

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, 2020Japanese TPOSuper-J

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, 2020Japanese TPOSuper-J

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, 2020Japanese TPOSuper-J

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, 2020Japanese PerspectiveSuper-J

The Japanese Coexist with Gods

One of the many interesting characteristics about Japanese people is their flexible view of religion. The traditional religion of the Japanese is Shinto, where many gods coexist. It is said that there are eight million gods in Japan. This has come about because things that are beyond human beings’understanding — and that people hold in […]

February 24, 2020Japanese TPOSuper-J

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, 2020Japanese TPOSuper-J

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, 2020Japanese PerspectiveSuper-J

Japanese Adopting Foreign Cultures, Creating Their Own

The main factors behind the character of most Japanese is that Japan is a temperate island, and the people are part of a racially homogeneous, agriculture-based nation. It is considered that these fundamental characteristics are partly behind Japanese peoples’ interest in foreign cultures. Furthermore, in addition to the special ability of Japanese to absorb the […]

February 22, 2020Japanese TPOSuper-J

“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,” […]