Save time & have a better time anywhere in Japan (since 1990) with my expert private custom Japan tours & travel services. Learn more! WhatsApp: +1-415-230-0579. Email me today!

Things & ideas worth knowing about the Japanese language!

Japanese hanko seals or chops for signing at the bank and elsewhere!

The Japanese language, like all languages, is full of strange ways to say things that are different from most other languages. And I should know! I speak 4 languages fluently and one better than basic: I'm fluent in English, German, Swedish and Japanese; and recently I reached better than basic Spanish. I also have a Masters degree in Applied Linguistics. I am very fussy and creative with vocabulary and considered myself a poet (I founded the Kyoto Connection, 1986-2000, poetry group and open performance event) for quite a while. Here is an example of new words that I use all the time: 1. I no longer say think when I actually mean "thieel" or think + feel. 2. In internal and external (out loud) conversations I don't say "I," only we . . .

I started studying Japanese in Kyoto in 1990 at an official language school. Enrolling in an official program meant spending about 250 US dollars a month for the class fee. I studied 3 hours in the morning, six days a week. I was enrolled at the school, for which I got a Cultural Visa, for two years.

In Japan authority and hierarchy are extremely important and both are woven into the Japanese language. If you address an elderly professor in a casual way he (or she) can become extremely upset. Like in Germany, you pretty much have to ask permission to use a less formal form of you. An American exchange student addressed her host father, a senior and prickly professor, with the wrong "you." And he kicked her out of his home, and she was an exchange student! So do be careful in Japan. Maybe not with language as you don't speak much. But do pay attention to body language and forms of formality. Putting your hands together in prayer in front of your chest and bowing slightly is a powerful body language expression in Japan. And it's not that the Japanese do so often but they all recognize the universal respect inherent in the gesture and formality of the gesture.

And never show anger or irritation to the Japanese because they immediately shut down, freeze, stop functioning. I should know! I have short temper and kept odd sleep patterns in Kyoto for 15 years or more. I froze more than a few shop attendants. Now it only happen rarely . . .

Between 1990 and 1996 my Japanese continued to improve and get more subtle. I memorized nearly 1,600 Chinese characters or kanji (when you graduate high school you have memorized about 1900 kanji; in China more like 5,000!). But it took me the longest time to learn how to be a "guy" in casual interactions with other Japanese of my generation and younger. In school I learned polite, standard Japanese. And using that with other dudes or a group of young Japanese ladies was just useless. It made me sound like a school girl talking to her teachers. But I learned and now I can do mafia or yakuza style speech or raised my voice to soprano levels and act meek or super polite. All these things are useful in Japan if you speak the language well and understand the Japanese people, which is not easy but it is possible. I was married to a Japanese woman from east Osaka for 6 years and we share our daughter, who is now over 20. And I was very close to my mother and father in law and their extended families.

General Douglas A. MacArthur, head of the American occupation for nearly a decade, once quipped: "The Japanese are a nation of 12 year olds." But my experience is more that the Japanese people are more superficial and fun in daily conversation (less confrontational; less competitive; less opinionated) and that they have very small egos. And the further you go from the big cities the more "authentic" old world Japanese you meet!!

In this post you will learn all kinds of things about the Japanese language from broad strokes to quirky associations.

Here are few things about the Japanese language that you can use or try to use when eating in restaurant.

Eating in Japan doesn't have to be difficult. Here are some tips to help you through any possible linguistic disasters as you venture beyond the noren, the half-curtain at the entrance of many restaurants.

First of all, don't be surprised when the minute you enter a restaurant, you're greeted with "Irasshai-mase". It just means welcome and requires no answer on your part. In the more free-wheeling spots (ie. where the sake flows) it will be shortened to just "Irasshai!" and probably shouted by the entire staff. If you are not directed to a seat, just take any available one and soon a hot hand towel (Oshibori) and a cup of tea will be placed before you.

At lunch time it is easiest to simply order the reasonably priced teishoku, a set menu consisting of a bowl of rice, soup, and a meat, fish or vegetable dish. Should you run out of tea, say "Ocha [tea] o kudasai", or more politely, "Ocha o itadake-masuka". For another helping of rice or soup, hold up your empty bowl and say "Okawari [refill] o kudasai". However, not all restaurants honor this request!

In Japan you pay directly at the cashier, not at your table. In Japanese-style restaurants say "Okanjo onegai-shimasu", or "Okanjo shite kudasai" ("Could I please have the check?"). If it's a trendy, Western-style place (French restaurants, bars, etc.) you can also say "Chekku [check] shite kudasai". When you leave, expect to be ushered out with a chorus of "Arigato gozaimashita"'s ("Thank you!").

When dining in a Japanese home it's good manners to say "Itadaki-masu" before eating. It means "I humbly receive". When finished, you should also say "Gochiso-sama deshita": "It was a treat".

The Japanese seem to have as many words for water as water has shapes. For example, the fresh water coming from a river (kawa), lake (mizu-umi) or pond (ike) is called mamizu, lit. "true water". Saltwater from the ocean (umi) is called kaisui. Just plain old drinking water is called mizu, or honorably, Omizu. Hot water is Oyu, but water that has been boiled and then allowed to cool is called yuzamashi. Chilled water served in restaurants is called Ohiya. Ice is kori, but in an alcoholic drink, it becomes rokku, from the English expression "on the rocks". A whiskey and water is a mizu-wari. Because of its purifying qualities, water plays an essential part in many Shinto and Buddhist ceremonies; yet many expressions also emphasize water's destructive side. Mizu o sasu, "to pour on water", for example, means to ruin a happy mood, to be a wet blanket. Similarly, when a family or couple enjoys a moment of blissful privacy without any interfering third party, they are said to be mizu-irazu, or "without water in the works". Just as water is shapeless, vague, and deceptive, a person who is elusive and not frank is mizu kusai, or "smells of water". By the same token, a mizu-kake ron, a "discussion sprinkled with water", is endless and fruitless--things said just run off. The mizu shobai, "water business" is the floating world of night clubs and bar hostesses. Income in this world is as unstable as water--when the economy booms, the money pours in, but when things go bad, the well runs dry!

Nihonjin & Nihongo: Japanese culture & language

A few days in Japan and every visitor gets the feeling that it might be a good idea to study Japanese. Of course thinking about it is always much much easier that actually starting to learn anything at all. This is especially true of something as hard as Japanese, one of the five most difficult languages in the world. On the other hand, if you think it is going to be hard, it probably will be.

Start off on the right foot by believing that you can learn a little and then from there a little more and so on. What ever you learn, even if it seems totally useless, will, in the end lead you to something new. Start at the place that interests you or that is the most interesting for you. Some people get into the kanji (Chinese ideograms), some enjoy creating grammar patterns and others take a more practical approach by memorizing verbs, nouns and adjective. No matter where you start you will find that your understanding of the Japanese and their culture will improve. In the end, you can’t lose!

Unlike nearly all languages in the world, written Japanese is a mixture of two historical realities. First of all, spoken Japanese came before written Japanese (which was developed some time in the late 8th century in Kyoto). Therefore, when they modeled their words onto the Chinese writing system everything did not exactly fit. For example raku, kyaku or koku, key Japanese sounds, do not exist in Chinese. Therefore, Japanese is a combination of kanji and hiragana. Second of all, many Japanese words (more and more every year) are borrowed from other languages, especially English and German. These words, though written using katakana, which makes them easier to identify, are usually quite different from the sound of the original word. For example, mass communication, is masukomi in Japanese. Even the words ‘situation’ and ‘all mighty’ have Japanese counterparts. To make things even worse, the meaning of the original word and the Japanese version of it may be entirely different. Consider the German word for work, ‘arbeit’; in Japanese arubeito means part-time job.

For many the biggest challenge of any new language lies in the grammar. Japanese grammar is not really difficult. It is simply quite different from most European languages, where the verb is between the subject and the object. Japanese sentences are constructed with the verb at the end, after the subject. In English and Spanish, you would say: “I went to the fish shop”. In Japanese, you would say: “I fish shop to went.”

If you are German, then you do have an advantage as German sentences also end in the verb. This explains why Japanese people learn German much more quickly than they do English. German’s strict obedience to its rules versus English’s maddening disobedience to the rules it is supposedly built on, most likely also makes German easier for the Japanese.

Some people say sentences ending in verbs are perfectly suited for a culture that is as hierarchal and deeply polite as Japanese society is. If you get the feeling, clearly or just as an intuition, that the person you are speaking with is already displeased with what you are saying, you can simply change the verb at the last minute. For example instead of saying: “I don’t want to compromise.” you can say: “I will compromise.” In this way you can avoid conflict, an core desire in Japanese social interaction.

One of the aspects of Japanese that can be the most difficult for Westerners lies in the appropriate level of politeness. There are three levels of polite language: keigo or “formal Japanese”, the polite “masu” verb form, and the straight verb form style. If you really want to be safe, then two levels are probably enough: the masu form for formal or polite situations and the straight, almost brutal, plain verb ending for informal situations. The first form is always safe but can be a bit stiff at times. The key lies in knowing when which form is truly the right one. When in doubt choose the more polite form.

If you have a good memory, then learn Japanese the super fast way: memorize words and expressions only and forget about, at least for the time being, grammar all together. The best mix is: 40% verbs, 40% nouns and 20% adjectives. A superb book for this is Japanese for Native Speakers. It has what is considered to be the essential of all essential vocabulary lists, broken down into nouns, adjectives, verbs, etc. at the back: these 20 pages are priceless for any serious Japanese student. Kyoto also has more than its share of excellent Japanese schools with courses suited to every type of person and level. See page 14 for a list and call today! Get further into Japan and Japanese culture: learn a little Japanese every day.

The ways of saying “you” in Japanese

In English referring to oneself and others is simple: oneself is "I" and others "you". Not so in Japan, where social relations and status decide terms of address.

Although any dictionary will tell you that "you" can be translated as anata, kimi or omae, the usage of these three words is strictly regualated. Anata, for example, is used mainly in intimate relations. A woman may use it to address her husband or lover instead of using his first name, while he might respond with kimi or omae, both of which are reserved for "male speech".

Luckily, thanks to the nature of Japanese verbs, the subject of a sentence can often be implied rather than stated. This means that two people can talk to each other without once using any word for "you". Indeed, Japanese seem to go out of their way to avoid such pronouns, preferring to use names or titles. If you do not know which one to use, then use the person’s name (-san affixed to the person’s last name is always the safest option).

Referring to yourself is not easy either. Again, you have to consider your audience. The most neutral word for "I" is watashi or watakushi. Men have the additional choices of the friendly word boku or the rough term ore, depending on the degree of machismo they want to put into their speech (do not try to be macho with people you just met, unless of course they are much younger than you are!).

Kinship terms are widely used, too, even when the person is not a relative. A customer in a restaurant might use one-san ("big sister") or onii-san ("big brother) to get the waitress' or waiter's attention. Oba-san ("Auntie") is a general term that can be used to address any middle-aged woman, married or unmarried. A slightly more respectful term for a married woman is Oku-san (wife); you'll hear merchants use it when they call out to potential customers in the market.

Kyoto & Kansai dialect words & phrases are hard to translate!

Han-nari, a typical word of the Kyoto dialect, translates into English better than into hyojungo (standard) Japanese. In the official Japanese, it would be hanayaka, which, according to one dictionary, means 'gay,' 'flowery,' or 'gorgeous.' Han-nari modifies something that is not just beautiful, but gentle and graceful, so hanayaka is only a 60% correct translation. The English word 'elegant' is 80%correct translation. The remaining 20% is what cannot be directly translated into the English language, because many 'han-nari' things are, naturally, original to the Kyoto culture.

‘Irachi', a word in the Kansai dialect often used to describe a person’s hastiness, like han-nari cannot be 100% correctly translated into standard Japanese. The official expression "ki no mijikai (irritable)" would be the closest translation, but its still only 70% correct. However, a 95% correct translation in English can be found in the word 'impatient.

'

Finally, here is an example of a Kansai dialect word that is untranslatable into either standard Japanese or English —'ichibiru.' The closest in standard Japanese would be 'choshi ni notte iru' or 'kidotte iru.' In English, these would become 'to get carried away' or 'be stuck up.' Both are only 60% right. To really get the true definition, you just have to listen to Kansai people use it.

Note: The percentages mentioned above are based on the writer’s personal assessment of degree of correctness rendered.

Japanese Onomatopoeia: Easy to remember & fun to use . . .

No language is richer in onomatopoeic expressions than Japanese. While the English language has tended to confine itself to fairly obvious mimicry, creating such words as cuckoo, and crunch, Japanese has been a lot more creative. In addition to words that imitate sounds, the language has also come up with numerous onomatopoeic words to describe feelings, moods, and states of being. This latter intrinsically Japanese form of onomatopoeia often forms words by repeating the same sound twice, creating expressions referred to as kasane-kotoba, or repeated words.

When it's too hot to sleep or hot enough to make sleep elusive then we feel juu-juu. At the same time, many of us have been battling the end of the year crowds (or the start or end of the day crowds on the big commute to and from Osaka) leading us to endure that packed sensation in a train full of strangers known as gyu-gyu. The smart commuter will know that the end of the ride is best rewarded with a period of decompression: a bura-bura walk (aimless stroll) downtown and then to a pub for a couple of pints followed by a slow (guzu-guzu) ride home on your bike.

Hungry? Or should I say peko-peko? How about some nabe hot pot fun: great with a group of friends around a winter table in a warm room. How about some nabe hot pot fun: great with a group of friends around a winter table in a warm room. How about some nabe hot pot fun: great with a group of friends around a winter table in a warm room. In need of liquid refreshment? While reviving yourself with beer or sake at your next end of the year or start of the year party, bear in mind that the act of guzzling or gulping down a liquid can be described as gabu-gabu.

Most of the above expressions can be found in An Illustrated Dictionary of Japanese Onomatopoeic Expressions by author and illustrator, Gomi Taro, published by the Japan Times. Read it and become pera-pera (fluent)!