Hello, Everyone!
Here’s Sachi!
A feeling that is difficult for foreigners to understand.
The other day, when I was studying Spanish, If you were Japanese, you would say, “Would you like a cup of tea?” but Spaniards say, “Would you like a cup of coffee?”. I learned that it is a Spanish custom.
In fact, the “Would you like a cup of tea?” meaning is not only literal but also included the meaning in “Why don’t we go to a café?”, “Why don’t we take a break?” and “Let’s kill some time.” in Japan.
If you want something other than tea, and someone asks you in Japanese,『お茶しない？(ocha shinai?)』you don’t have to say, “I want something other than tea.”
Most Japanese people say, “Would you like a cup of tea?” but most of them actually order coffee.
Conversations that sound like cryptic words.
When we are members of the same group performing a set action, we may omit the subject and object of our conversation.
For example, the first of these
The literal translation is something like this.
Did you figure out what conversation we are having?
Actually, this is a conversation about going out for a drink after work.
Translated into natural English, it looks like this.
Other invitations include 『一杯行く？ (ippai iku?)』and『一杯やろう (ippai yarou)』. The literal translation is『Would you like to have a glass of beer tonight?』
The word does not mean “We’ll just have one beer” but “let’s go for a drink tonight”. They can also be expressed with no subject or object at all, like this『今晩どう？ (konban dou?)』.
The literal translation is『How about tonight?』
You wouldn’t understand what it means if your colleague suddenly said this to you the moment you met him LOL.
What is more interesting is that sometimes, without words, they communicate with each other by simply pretending to drink with their hands holding お猪口 (ochoko), saying, ‘Let’s go out for a drink tonight.
For example, the second of these.
Some conversations are common among cigarette smokers.
When they know where the smoking area is at work, sometimes they don’t say “Do you want to go for a cigarette?” to one another.
If the smoking area is outside:
『ちょっと外行くか？ (chotto soto ikuka?)』『Why don’t we go outside?』
If the smoking area is on the ground floor and they are on the second floor:
『ちょっと下行くか？ (chotto shita ikuka?)』『Why don’t we go downstairs?』
Both are invitations to “go for a cigarette?” is an invitation to go out for a cigarette.
Very abstract and ambiguous language.
We live by our senses and respect the atmosphere of the place. We have a saying, 『阿吽の呼吸 (aunnokokyuu)』. It refers to a state in which both parties can communicate without having to say exactly what they mean.
For instance:
Whenever my boss would start looking for something, I would always be able to tell where it was without even looking for it. Because I knew her personality and actions well.
The more time you spend together, the better you will be able to read their thoughts and what they will do next.
So we can understand each other’s intentions without having to specifically express them in words.
The more such opportunities we have, the more abstract and ambiguous our conversations become, and the more we omit subjects and objects.
＼Use this link to get 30% off your first lesson.／
If you are interested in learning Japanese, try Preply’s private lessons!
