Hello friends! It was once again an adorable Valentine's Day in Japan (see last year's post here) and we are eagerly awaiting springtime and cherry blossoms just around the corner. Winter can be quite soggy and relentless in Kanazawa.
I thought I'd do something a little different for this blog post, something for all you linguists out there. We often hear about things getting "lost in translation," but it's a concept that I didn't really grasp until living in Japan and trying to speak this daggum language on a daily basis. A few days ago, I was reflecting on how even the simplest words and phrases can have the most difficult translations. I have picked my top 5 to share with you. Enjoy!1. "No"
That's right, our favorite two-letter word that we like to sigh at telemarketers or needy children just isn't a thing in Japanese. Sure, they have a word for "no," but it's rarely used, and is actually strange in most seemingly yes-or-no circumstances. For example, if you're at the supermarket and the clerk asks, "Do you need a bag?" You could say, "no" (in Japanese "iie"), and you'd get your point across, but it'd be strange--maybe even a little rude. Instead, you say, "I have a bag with me," and then it's inferred that you don't need one.
There is also the Japanese word "chigaimasu," which means "to differ from," and Japanese often use this to correct someone. "You're a school teacher, right?" "Chigaimasu. I'm actually a nurse."
Another example: our friends who moved here in September were a little frazzled when they started their job at a local kindergarten and quickly found that the Japanese "iie" got them virtually nowhere when the kiddos were pulling their hair or using them for human ladders. The kids just didn't seem to respond in the way English speakers would upon receiving a firm "no." Our friends learned to use the Japanese "dame," which translates roughly as "no good" or "don't."
Additionally, Japanese are careful not to hurt one another's feelings, and so for this reason they often avoid direct "no"s. A businessman might say something along the lines of, "Hmm...it's...difficult" to decline a colleague's proposal. A waitress might quickly suck air through her front teeth and tilt her head sideways to decline my request for a free refill. And a busy coworker might answer, "maybe..." to one of my suggestions she flat-out hates. It's all in the name of "saving face," so the one who asked might be spared the embarrassment of being told "no."
2. "The"
Welcome to the bane of my students' English studies. In Japanese, "a" and "the" don't exist. Have you ever tried explaining the difference between these two tiny words? Sure, there are a few general guidelines that help, but the number of exceptions almost negates them. For example, why do we say, "I took the bus this morning"? There are multiple buses. You have not previously mentioned said bus. So why "the" and not "a"? Or why do we say, "the earth," but not, "the Mars," or, "the Jupiter"? This is one area where Japanese totally trumps English. No articles at all! Hooray! (Although I must say that this renders many movie titles significantly less effective: Godfather. James and Giant Peach. Indian in Cupboard. You get [ ] idea.)
3. "Love"
Although there are plenty of ways to express love in Japanese, grammatically, it's quite different from English. Most commonly, "love" is actually expressed in the form of an adjective. So rather than using the subject-verb-object structure of, "I love you," it's expressed in the form of subject-object-adjective, or, "I [find] you lovable." The Japanese word for "lovable" is actually a combination of the kanji for "big" and "likable." Makes sense, right? "I like sweet potatoes" can be translated "satsumaimo ga suki desu," while "I love sweet potatoes" would be "satsumaimo ga daisuki desu." This makes for some adorable translation errors from my students, such as, "Sweet potatoes are my big like."
If you want to use the noun form of "love," as in, "Love is in the air," it's different vocabulary altogether. "Ai" can be used as a general term for familial, brotherly, or romantic love, while "koi" is more specifically used for romantic love.
4. "I don't know"
Okay, okay, I'm cheating a little on this one because technically it's three words, but we usually lump them together as one anyway, right? What cruel irony that this expression is so complicated in Japanese. Of all expressions, it's the one I need most. I remember being asked by an elderly Japanese lady several months ago if it was okay for her to park her car outside the craft shop. I guess I looked like I worked there? Anyway, though I could understand her question, I obviously did not know the answer, but more devastating was that I didn't know how to tell her that I didn't know the answer. I ended up shrugging my shoulders like some punk teenager and darting off embarrassed on my bike.
So, what's the deal with "I don't know" in Japanese?
Well, there are two basic ways to translate the expression itself, one meaning, "I have not learned," or "I am not in a state of knowing," and the other, "I don't understand." Now, if you think the latter might lead to some confusion, you're totally right. Because if you use it in the wrong context, the person you're talking to will think you don't understand the question. The best I can tell, the difference between the two is very nuanced and is difficult to discern unless you are a native speaker or have been submersed in the language for a long time.
Additionally, translating "I don't know" as part of a full sentence, as in, "I don't know if I can come on Friday," is an entirely new can of worms. In this case, a clause would be added to the end of the sentence to indicate that you are not yet aware. "I come on Friday--I haven't learned yet." Uff. Living in a society where I don't know the answer 98% of the time, it's super unfortunate that this grammar point is so difficult.
5. "If"
There are actually four ways to express "if" in Japanese, most of which are worked into conjugations of verbs and are not actually represented by a single word itself. I am still knee-deep in learning this grammar point, but I'll give you a sample of what I've learned so far.
In English, we actually have four conditionals, too, but they all use the same word "if." One "if" is what we would call the zero conditional in English, meaning it's a given result that always happens. For example, "If you heat water to 212 degrees, it boils." Another type is what we would call the first conditional, in which a result will occur only if the first condition is met, as in, "If you speak slowly, then I can understand you."
The conditionals become more complex from here, delving into the past perfect tense ("If only I had studied more Japanese before I came here") and imaginary situations ("If I were you, I would..."). Native English speakers often don't even notice the difference between these four kinds of conditionals, because they all use the same word, "if." However, Japanese makes us more aware of their differences, as they each utilize different grammar. Tricky, tricky!
So there you have it. Japanese ain't no joke. Thanks for reading, folks!
