Comments on: On Japanese Probability

By: Friends with the Other Sex | The Japanese Role Playing Game

Friends with the Other Sex | The Japanese Role Playing Game — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 08:23:26 +0000

[…] complain. It’s probably (Japanese “probably”) worse in Saudi Arabia. But this isn’t the Saudi Arabian Role Playing Game here. When you play a […]

By: Fred

Fred — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:33:45 +0000

I’m American and currently studying at a language school in Kyoto. My teachers (I’ve got 6 Japanese natives) say that being to the point is “a little bit rude’ (which means it’s pretty rude), but some people (who have experience with foreigners) are prepared for it and understand it (like they are). But the majority of Japanese people have little experience interacting with foreigners, so when they speak to you, they still *think* like Japanese, and it translates in their English conversations. The same can be said for when foreigners speak Japanese– they *think* like foreigners, so sometimes they still manage to be rude without realizing it.

By: On Awkward Acts of Generosity in Japan | This Japanese Life. | 生命を外面九天です

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:03:17 +0000

[...] couple of levels. First, asking “I don’t have a bento today, right?” translates, in that hint-at-everything manner of Japanese communication, that maybe probably I was expecting [...]

By: On Not Apologizing in Japan | This Japanese Life. | 生命を外面九天です

On Not Apologizing in Japan | This Japanese Life. | 生命を外面九天です — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 11:48:31 +0000

[...] I would have to sort out when “probably” meant “certainly” and when it meant “never.” Once, I said I’d meet with students on a Monday. She said the students might be busy. When I [...]

By: On Getting In With the In Crowd in Japan | This Japanese Life. | 生命を外面九天です

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 13:31:35 +0000

[...] this was a translation error, a way of “being direct” that Japanese speakers of English are notoriously clumsy or hesitant about. But what had actually happened was, I’d been here long enough to break into the circle. The [...]

By: On Running in Japan | This Japanese Life. | 生命を外面九天です

On Running in Japan | This Japanese Life. | 生命を外面九天です — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:34:06 +0000

[...] loves when you are polite and vague. Words like “probably” and “maybe” come so often that the nation is draped in an elegant and exhausting [...]

By: My Dragon Week: On Being Bored in Japan | This Japanese Life. | 生命を外面九天です

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:38:57 +0000

[...] just have to replace every weasel-word with its more certain version: “may” means “will,” “few” means “none,” and “probably” means “it is [...]

By: odorunara

odorunara — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:54:43 +0000

I have the opposite problem. I try my damnedest to do the build-up trap when I want to get an interview with someone for work-related reasons and they’re just like, “Whahhhhh.” Clearly I need to work on this, or lose my accent.

But yeah. What they don’t teach you in Japanese class!

By: Jeffrey

Jeffrey — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:36:31 +0000

I think this is maybe true.
The context and the audience are crucial. Japanese make non-face losing declarative sentences all the time. If you actually had the conversation with which you begin your post, the “fault” really lies with the Japanese speaker who should know, particularly if he/she has worked with Westerners for any length of time and particularly if this conversation occurred at a language school, that a declarative answer to this question was in order.

And, if one allows to be backed into ambiguous conversations like this, this is when you play the “gaijin card” and be really direct to a point just short of rudeness. This is how one isn’t “surprised” then that he has been backed into a commitment he was unaware of or is otherwise stymied by ambiguity.

I’ve always felt that it’s just fine if the Japanese want to bump around in a fog for much longer than necessary to arrive at a “consensus.” But as a foreigner, and regardless of having a command of the language and even a Japanese partner, you’re still not Japanese and are therefore cut a mile of slack when it comes to what is expected of other Japanese.

By: Kaori

Kaori — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 01:02:02 +0000

Great post and so very true. When you’re a part of that culture it’s all a given and you don’t notice it as much, but yes, we ALL do it! I find that when I’m only using Japanese it doesn’t bother me as much but when I have to translate documents into English, the uncertainty of the sentences really bother me. Especially how they use the kanji 等, which is usually translated to “etc.,” in everything. Apparently being specific is not a requirement and leaving things vague is quite acceptable here in Japan. Takes some getting used to :-)