Why turtles have hairy tails in East Asian art

A dear friend who was born in 1919, survived World War II and lived to the ripe old age of 101, shared many pearls of wisdom with me. Among those were several Japanese proverbs. 

Like this one:

亀の甲より年の功

Kame no kō yori toshi no kō. “Experience is the mother of wisdom.” That’s easy to understand. Yet its literal meaning is “Wisdom from age is better than the shell of a tortoise.”

Huh? 

What does wisdom have to do with tortoise shells? 

This proverb expresses its meaning by using wordplay, a favorite in Japanese. Two homonyms are used — kō 甲, meaning turtle shell, and kō 功, meaning accumulated experience. The proverb also alludes to the symbolic imagery of the turtle as representing long life.

Turtles, cranes, and pine trees

Another proverb states:

鶴は千年亀は万年

Tsuru wa sen-nen, kame wa man-nen. “A crane lives a thousand years, a turtle, ten thousand.”

The turtle, along with the crane and the pine tree, is one of three frequently used images to convey the wish for longevity. It is usually pictured with a long hairy tail and is called a minogame 蓑亀, meaning a turtle wearing a straw raincoat.

But what is a straw raincoat? 

Allow me a brief digression.

Stiff oil-paper umbrellas, or rather, parasols, came to Japan from China during the 9th century and were used as sunshades. The folding mechanism was invented in the late 16th century, and folding parasols became popular during the Edo Era (1603–1867). 

Straw raincoats and kasa hats — conical umbrella hats commonly seen in East Asian art and still worn today — had traditionally been used as protection against rain. 

We had to leave it to the Europeans to invent rain umbrellas.

Back to turtles. 

Why do they have hairy tails?

Over many years spent in water, bluish-green algae attaches and thrives on the turtle’s carapace, growing long and luxurious, and giving the appearance of a hairy tail. The years it takes for the algae to lengthen reveal the turtle’s long life. 

I confess I was puzzled about these hairy turtles for years. I’m happy to have finally learned how this whimsical image came to represent longevity.

The post Turtles, Longevity, and Strangely Hairy Tails first appeared on More Than Tokyo and is written by Diane Tincher.

Kanji characters can have deep significance

Japan has been using Chinese characters since they were imported from Sui Dynasty China in the 6th century. Although the Japanese language did not quite fit with Chinese writing, over the centuries, they adapted and transformed it to suit their needs.

When we look into Chinese characters, called kanji in Japanese, we find they can conjure up both delightful images and deep meaning.

Let’s look at a few kanji that express life lessons. The first two were shared with me by my elderly Japanese friend.

Ningen

These kanjis are read as ningen which means human being.

The first kanji means person. The second means interval or relationship. When combined, they illustrate that in order to be human, we need relationships and interactions with others.

“No man is an island.” — John Donne

Seikatsu

These kanji, read seikatsu, mean living or one’s daily existence. The first kanji means life. The second means action or vigor. To truly live, we must be active.

Ninja

The character for ninja 忍 is written with a blade, 刃, over the character for heart or spirit, 心. Ninjas are legendary for their unrivaled stealth and skill. If we carry the strength of a katana in our hearts, we, like ninjas, can overcome hardships with grace and skill.

Speaking of hardship…

Happiness vs. Hardship

The kanji on the left is tsurai, meaning bitter hardship. The kanji on the right is saiwai meaning happiness. As you can see, adding the one line pictured in the middle changes hardship to happiness.

When people experience hard times, perhaps a change as tiny as one little line is all that separates them from joy.

Let us never underestimate the power of a tiny act of kindness.

References:

allworddic.com, my dear friend Mori-san.

The post 4 Kanji and Their Hidden Meanings first appeared on More Than Tokyo and is written by Diane Tincher.

The ancient story behind an everyday expression

According to the 9th-century Chinese history, Rekidaimeigaki, 歴代名画記, there is an interesting story behind the four character expression used in both China and Japan, 画竜点睛. In Japanese, this is read garyōtensei, and means to put the finishing touch on something.

The characters by themselves mean:

画 picture, brush stroke

竜 dragon

点 spot

睛 pupil

Before I share the story with you, it’s helpful to understand a certain Buddhist tradition. When a new statue of the Buddha is consecrated, an “eye-opening ceremony” is held. The officiating priest carefully paints the pupils on it, and the spirit of the Buddha enters the statue.

So now, on to the story.

Dragons on temple walls

In 5th century China lived an artist of exceptional skill. His name was Zhang Sengyou, and he was commissioned to paint a mural of four white dragons on the wall of Anrakuji Temple.

As the lifelike dragons appeared one by one upon the wall, onlookers marveled at their realism. 

Then Zhang stopped painting.

“But what of the eyes? They have no pupils! You’re not finished.” The people urged him to paint pupils to complete the dragons.

Zhang replied, “If I add the pupils, the dragons will fly off into the sky.” 

“That’s impossible!” They laughed in disbelief, insisting he finish the dragons.

The artist sighed and gave in. He painted pupils on one, and then two of the dragons. As he painted, dark clouds gathered. Thunder clapped. Lightning struck. True to the artist’s word, the mighty beasts came to life and flew to the heavens, leaving the two unfinished dragons quiet upon the wall.

Once the dragons were out of sight, calm returned.

The crowd was struck dumb, staring in silence at the sky. The two sightless dragons remain to this day on the walls of Anrakuji Temple.

画竜点睛, garyōtensei, literally means adding the dot of the pupil to the dragon painting — or as my dictionary defines it, “completing something by executing the final, critical step.”

If you are interested in the history of Japanese, and how Chinese characters became part of the language, you might like Why is Learning Japanese So Hard?

References:

Kotobank 画竜点睛, Kotobank 歴代名画記, Japanese dictionary.

The post What Do Dragons Have to Do With This Classic Japanese Idiom? first appeared on More Than Tokyo and is written by Diane Tincher.

Children who learn this from an early age become remarkably resilient adults

In 2016, Angela Duckworth published her research on what she called “Grit” — a winning combination of passion and perseverance — that she posited as a crucial component of success.

That is the closest thing I can think of to what the Japanese have been calling gaman (我慢) for centuries.

What is gaman?

My dictionary defines gaman as “patience, endurance, perseverance, tolerance, self-control, and self-denial.”

Gaman is a characteristic that is imbued into children so deeply that it becomes a given. It is why we see adults lining up in an orderly fashion at train stations and stoically dealing with natural disasters like the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

Restraint, self-control, tolerance. These are characteristics built into Japanese character.

We, humans, are not born with this high level of patience and endurance, as anyone who had cared for a baby or toddler well knows. So how do children in Japan develop this important trait?

Speaking from my own experience in raising my children in Japan while retaining my Western sensibilities, allow me to present you with a few examples.

Learning to gaman

• In elementary school, I observed students kneeling on the wooden floor in the formal Japanese sitting position of seiza — sitting on feet —while listening to long speeches in the school auditorium.
• Elementary and junior high school students are required to walk to and from school, carrying all books and equipment that they may need for school each day — regardless of the weather.

• When my children were in school, there were no heaters or air conditioners in the classrooms. 
• For their PE uniforms, my daughter and her classmates wore little underwear-like bloomers and thin T-shirts, no matter what the weather. The illustration above is a more recent version of the PE uniform, having replaced the underwear-style bloomers for girls with shorts.

• Students must eat every bite of their school lunches, whether they like it or not. This was particularly troublesome for my youngest son’s teachers, as he would sit at his desk with his lunch before him and refuse to open his mouth to eat even one bite of fish. He would rather gaman and miss recess than eat fish. lol
• Kids are taught not to challenge authority or question rules that don’t seem to make sense. They learn to simply suck it up, or rather, gaman.
• Elementary school students have six weeks of summer vacation during which they are required to do homework assignments daily. Part of that assignment for first graders is to care for a morning glory plant which they must bring back to school in September.

• If you are sick on the day of a test and miss taking it, you get a zero. At least that was my children’s situation in school. I hear that today, some schools will allow students to make up a missed test.
• High School in Japan is not compulsory. You have one chance to take the entrance test for a public high school, and one chance to take the entrance test for a private high school. If you flunk, or if you get sick and miss the test, you have to wait until the tests are held the next year to try again. Curiously, kids that have to wait for the next year’s tests are called ronin (yes, the same word used for a masterless samurai).

Perhaps it says something that I was so easily able to locate Japanese illustrations for every point on my list.

The results of learning to gaman

Although my motherly and lenient viewpoint clashed with many of the restrictions forced on my children in public schools, I can now appreciate much of their value.

So, next time you sit down to a meticulously prepared and beautiful Japanese meal, or see photos of Japanese people lining up in an orderly fashion, cleaning sports stadiums after events, or doing any job with scrupulous attention to detail, think about the years those adults spent as children honing their patience — and practicing gaman.

The post Gaman — The Gritty Japanese Word for an Integral National Characteristic first appeared on More Than Tokyo and is written by Diane Tincher.

Cat skins on shamisens and unforeseen consequences

There is a Japanese proverb, 風が吹けば桶屋が儲かる, Kaze ga fukeba, okeya ga moukaru, which means, “When the wind blows, the barrel-makers profit.”

When I first heard that one, I was stumped. What could it mean?

As unlikely as that sounds, the story goes like this:

• The blowing wind stirs up clouds of dust from the ground, getting into people’s eyes and causing blindness.
• The blind take up playing the shamisen to make their living. The blind famously made their living as musicians as far back as the 13th century in Japan.
• The greater demand for shamisens results in a greater demand for the cat skins that are used for covering their sound-box.

Woah, wait! Cat skins? Really?

A word about shamisens

The shamisen is a 3-stringed instrument that originated in the Ryūkyū Kingdom, now Okinawa, in the 16th century. At that time, Ryūkyū was sending regular tributary missions to China, and the shamisen developed from a Chinese instrument called the sanxian that was brought back during those missions.

Ryūkyū shamisens are traditionally covered with snakeskin, while others used cat or dog skins. The thinness of the skin was said to produce a more beautiful sound.

Times have changed. Recently shamisen makers, few though they are, have experimented with imported kangaroo skin and various types of polymers.

Gone are the days of catching stray cats for the shamisen makers.

Back to the proverb

• Due to their skins being used to provide the newly blind with shamisens, fewer cats result in an increase in the mouse population.
• In their frenzy for food, the unchecked mice nibble at barrels, destroying them.
• The barrel-makers find their barrels in greater demand, thereby earning them unexpected profits.

When the wind blows, the barrel makers profit. 

Recent winds blowing in this world have caused unforeseen consequences.

• The pandemic caused a surge in real estate prices as people working from home sought out nicer houses.
• There have been trends in more healthful eating due to more people cooking at home.
• Other families have struggled, and their health suffered due to a lack of work and income.
• The jury is out on how years of seeing only mask-wearing teachers and caregivers will affect babies and children’s educational and mental development.

What other things happening today may cause unforeseen consequences down the road?

Not long after Shamisens developed in Ryūkyū, another import from China turned out to be a lifesaver in Japan. You’ll find the story here: Satsuma Sweet Potatoes and the Man who Inadvertently Became a God.

The post A Japanese Proverb—When the wind blows, the barrel makers profit first appeared on More Than Tokyo and is written by Diane Tincher.

Minimum vocabulary needed while in Japan

If you are one of those intrepid souls that prefers to explore the world off the beaten track in Japan, you will likely encounter people who do not speak English. Learning these Japanese phrases could be tremendously helpful.

1. Kore wo kudasai (ko-leh oh kuh-dah-sah-ee)

“This one, please.”

At a restaurant: Point to the item you want on the menu or in the plastic food display, and say, “Kore wo kudasai.”

In a store: Point to the object you want to buy and say, “Kore wo kudasai.”

2. Onegaishimasu (oh-neh-guy-she-mäs)

Onegaishimasu is a very polite “please.”

As you can imagine, this word is endlessly useful.

In a restaurant and you want more water? Lift your glass and say, “Onegaishimasu.”

Many restaurants offer free refills of rice, if that’s what you want, lift your rice bowl and say, “Onegaishimasu.”

Finished your meal and ready for your check? Say “Onegaishimasu.”

If you want to be more specific in asking for your check, say, “Okaikei (ō-käē-këē), onegaishimasu.” “Check, please.”

3. … ii desu ka? (ee des kah)

Meaning, “Is it okay if I…?”

Want to sit down? Gesture to the chair and ask “ii desu ka?”

Basically, anything you want to do, if you can gesture and say “ii desu ka?” you will be understood.

This will also get you major points for politeness.

4. Dōzo (do-oh-zoh)

Dōzo means “Go ahead.”

In a crowded place and want to let someone go ahead of you? Say “dōzo” as you gesture with your arm.

When you ask if you can do something — “ii desu ka?” — you will likely be responded to with “Dōzo.”

5. Kekkō desu. (kehk-koh des)

“No, thank you.”

This is important, as rural Japanese can be very generous with food and drink. If you have reached your limit, say “Kekkō desu.”

Holding your hand over the top of your glass while saying “kekkō desu” also gives a clear signal you have had enough.

6. Hai / iie or dame (hah-ee / ee-yeh / dah-meh)

Hai means “Yes.”

Ie means “No.”

Dame is a stronger “no,” and if accompanied by crossed arms, it’s a very strong “no.”

7. Sumimasen (sue-mee-mah-sen)

“Excuse me.”

Used when you accidentally bump into someone, and as a preface before asking a question. Perhaps this is most commonly used when squeezing between people on a train or other crowded place.

Accompanied by a bow, “sumimasen” can be used for “I’m sorry.”

8. Toire wa doko desu ka? (toe-ee-leh wah doh-koh des kah)

“Where is the bathroom?”

This is a totally common question in Japan, so you need not hesitate to ask.

9. Wakarimasen. (wah-kah-lee-mah-sen)

“I don’t understand.”

Nihongo (nē-hön-gō) wakarimasen. “I don’t understand Japanese.”

10. Eigo dekimasuka? (eh-ee-goh deh-key-mäs-kah)

“Can you speak English?”

I’m sure you can imagine many scenarios where this question would come in handy.

Note about paying

When paying with your credit card, don’t be surprised when the cashier holds up a finger and asks you, “Ikkai barai, desu ka?” In Japan, we are given the option to pay once or to split any payments into revolving charges. Just say, “Hai” to let the cashier know that one payment is fine.

Depending on how far off the beaten track you get, you may encounter shops that do not take credit cards. It’s always wise to carry 10-20,000 yen (USD $120-240).

It’s generally not a problem to pay for a small purchase with a 10,000 yen bill. It’s pretty normal.

Greetings

You may be wondering how to say “Hello” in Japanese. For the answer to that question, please see How To Say Hello in Japanese.

Special thanks to Hiroko who helped me put this list together. She taught Japanese to foreigners for over 55 years, and her insight and suggestions were fabulous. She commented, “We would really appreciate you learning these phrases before you visit.”

The post 10 Essential Japanese Phrases to Learn Today first appeared on More Than Tokyo and is written by Diane Tincher.

Let me give you 5 reasons, starting with its history

Like many other Americans, I studied French in school. Sure, there were male and female words, a few odd quirks that differed from English, but all in all, it was relatively easy to learn. 

So what made learning Japanese so incredibly hard for me? In order to answer that question, we will first need some history.

A Little History of Written Japanese

In the 6th century, along with Buddhism, a system of laws, and many other things, Japan imported its writing system from China.

Naturally, Japan already had a language, so these imported Chinese characters — called kanji, 漢字, literally “Chinese characters,” in Japan — were used to represent words that already existed in spoken Japanese. Taking this into account, the ancient scholars of Nara decided that kanji should be read with both the Japanese and the Chinese pronunciations, depending on context.

The problem was that Japanese and Chinese grammar were completely different. Japanese is an agglutinative language, meaning it is short on subjects and long on verb endings which are added to give nuance and meaning to the sentence and to clarify the subject. Put simply, instead of a sentence consisting of subject plus verb like in English or old Chinese, in Japanese we have a verb plus suffixes and add-ons.

In order to accommodate this difference, the Nara scholars needed something to represent the sounds of those verb add-ons, particles, and other grammatical tidbits. So in addition to kanji used for words, they started using kanji to represent phonetic sounds. 

Using kanji simply for their phonetic sounds was called Manyōgana, and the first classical Japanese books were written in this form.

Complicating matters further, in some writings, a sentence would contain kanji used for their meanings and other kanji used only for their phonetics. At first, it was not standardized. That must have been very hard to read. Which was the word and which were the characters being used for phonetics?

As the years passed, writing out complex characters just for their phonetic pronunciation got to be a bit tiresome. So the ladies of the Heian (Kyoto) court developed a simplified cursive writing style for kanji which gave birth to the hiragana alphabet.

The world’s first novel, the Tale of the Genji, and the book of essays, The Pillow Book, are Heian era classics written by such courtly women.

In men’s more formal writing, bits of kanji were used to represent phonetic sounds, which became the katakana alphabet.

Hiragana and Katakana

Memorizing the two phonetic alphabets, hiragana and katakana, is the first step in learning Japanese. They are taught in kindergarten and again in the first year of elementary school.

Nowadays, hiragana is generally used for Japanese words and grammatical add-ons, and katakana is used for loanwords from languages other than Chinese. 

Children’s books have these phonetic symbols written beside the kanji that the children have not yet learned. The country follows an official curriculum, so learning kanji is standardized by grade level. After nine years of study, a child should be able to read the newspaper.

Kanji — the Queen of Challenges

There are 2,136 kanji designated by the Japanese Ministry of Education as “characters used in daily life,” as well as thousands more less-familiar ones. These thousands of kanji have been adapted and changed through the centuries, and they no longer necessarily resemble their Chinese antecedents.

Some kanji are easy. 山, read yama, mountain. It even looks like a mountain. Simple.

Some are not so easy, like this, 鬱, utsu, meaning depression. With a stroke count of 29, struggling to write it correctly can truly be depressing. 

Some kanji are simple but have different readings, like 生, meaning life, genuine, birth, raw, or even draft, when speaking of beer. According to my dictionary, it has 27 different readings!

How to Read Kanji 

Loosely speaking, when a character stands alone it is read with its Japanese pronunciation. When it is together with other characters, it is read with its inherited and adapted Chinese pronunciation. 

Take, for example, the word for the first light in the sky at dawn, or its metaphorical meaning, a ray of hope in the midst of despair — 曙光, shokō, its Chinese reading.

曙 by itself is read akebono, meaning daybreak. 光 by itself is read hikari, meaning light. Those are their Japanese readings.

Curious Kanji

Kanji words can bring up marvelous mental images.

稲妻, inazuma, means lightning. It uses the kanjis for 稲 “rice plant” and 妻 “wife.” The wife of a rice plant = lightning. 

Or one of the words for a snowflake, 雪花, yuki-bana. “Snow flower.” And the word for snow flurries is just as cute, 風花, kaza-bana. “Wind flowers.”

Or perhaps my favorite, the word for seahorse, 竜の落とし子, tatsu-no-otoshigo. “Bastard offspring of dragons.”

Before I leave the topic of kanji, allow me to introduce you to one of the more stroke-heavy characters.

This amazing work of art is the character, bonnō, meaning worldly desires. According to Buddhist teachings, man is tempted by 108 desires. Many of those desires are represented in this character, which takes 108 strokes to write. 

Four Big Challenges in Spoken Japanese

Now let’s take a look at some of the difficulties in mastering spoken Japanese.

Context

Depending on who you are speaking to, whether they are above you in social status, the same, or beneath you — generally someone younger— you use different verb endings, or even different words altogether.

Perhaps you are familiar with the Japanese custom of exchanging business cards when first meeting. Doing so helps one to know what language is appropriate to use with that person.

Keigo (pronounced kay-go)

This is very polite language that is used when addressing someone above you or older than you. It is hard. Help desks use it when I call for help. The 90-something-year-old owner of the seniors’ home where I teach uses it. 

When I am spoken to using keigo, if bowing and smiling isn’t sufficient, I ask them to please use more casual Japanese so my head does not explode.

There is another courtly type of polite Japanese used by the imperial family. In fact, when Emperor Hirohito gave his historic speech announcing the Japanese surrender that ended WWII, only the highly-educated could understand his imperial language. This caused a few unfortunate misunderstandings.

Culture

Culture is essential in learning any language, and none more so than Japanese. “Reading the air,” to borrow a Japanese expression, and noting what was left unsaid, is a crucial communication skill.

Japanese people are self-effacing, ambiguous, and indirect. Having a knowledge of Japan’s history and how its culture developed is essential to understanding the whys of the Japanese language.

Negatives

In English, we consider using two negatives in a sentence a no-no.

Not so in Japanese. My doctor was explaining my test results last week, and he used four negatives in one sentence. That’s a lot to keep track of! 

But that is normal, and even more normal for polite speech. 

Thankfully, the doctor was kind enough to repeat the information in one short simple sentence, with 1/20th the word count. 

A Final Word on Learning Japanese

With all these hurdles to conquer — kanji, context, keigo, culture, and all those negatives in one sentence — I doubt I will ever become truly fluent in Japanese. But I will certainly keep trying!

The post Why is Learning Japanese So Hard? first appeared on More Than Tokyo and is written by Diane Tincher.

I Still Cringe Thinking about the First One

The Japanese language has been a constant challenge since first moving to Japan decades ago. Over the years I have made mistakes on a daily basis, and no doubt will continue to do so. I hope that by sharing a few of my biggest, I might save you from the troubles I had.

Thinking that all polite words work both ways

Ever-cautious about courtesy thanks to my mother’s diligent teaching, one of the first words I learned in Japanese was the polite word itadakimasu, or rather, its simple verb form, itadaku, “to receive or accept.” 

This word is commonly used before meals, but it is also used as a humble way to say thank you for a gift.

Great, another word down! The verb “itadaku” is a polite word for “receive/accept.” I make a mental note.

Fast forward 20 long years. 

I am giving my Japanese teacher a gift, and I say with all humility of tone and manner, “Itadaite-kudasai,” which I am thinking is a very polite way to say, “Please accept my humble gift.” 

Itadaku = polite word for “accept,” right? 

After smiling and thanking me, my elderly teacher rubbed her arms and said, “You know, when you said “itadaite-kudasai” it made the hair on my arms stand on end, it’s so rude.” 

What?! I’d been saying that for years! The horrors!

She explained that using itadaku in that way was, in effect, putting myself far above her. 

“Here, lowly one, accept my magnanimous gift.”

Now I know.

Itadaku is only used in humbly receiving. It does not work both ways. It is not used when giving. Other verbs in Japanese work both ways, but not anything having to do with giving or receiving.

The subject of gifts brings me to my next faux pas.

Thinking that Japanese is anything at all like English

As an American, when giving someone a gift I would say something like, “I picked this out especially for you. I hope you like it!”

Or in Japan, the land where outrageously-priced fruit is given as gifts, “Here’s a $100 box of strawberries. I hope you like it!”

Just kidding. I wouldn’t really mention the price. But I did use to say, “I hope you like it.”

Wrong.

The correct Japanese approach when giving someone a $100 box of strawberries would be more like, “Here is a mediocre gift that I know is unworthy of your greatness or refined tastes. I know I am far beneath your lofty status, but I hope that you will forgive my impertinence and accept this gift from me.”

Thinking Japanese is straightforward

Years ago, I was setting up a bank account with the help of a Japanese friend. The teller had me fill out forms. So far, so good.

Then the teller asked me for my inkan. 

What’s an inkan? 

An inkan is a stamp, often made of bamboo, wood, or stone, and carved with the family name of the bearer. This stamp is to be registered at the city office and serves as an official “signature” on all legal documents in Japan.

At that time, I did not have an inkan.

Through my friend’s translation, I asked the teller, “Can I open a bank account without an inkan?”

The teller sucked air through his teeth and replied, “Muzukashii desu,” which I knew meant, “It’s difficult.”

Through my friend I asked, “I understand it’s difficult, but can it be done?”

Again, air was sucked through his teeth and the teller replied, “Muzukashii desu.”

Yet a third time I tried, determined to get my bank account opened that day. And for the third time I heard the word for “difficult,” muzukashii.

I looked inquiringly at my friend.

“‘Difficult’ means ‘no’.”

And that was the day I learned that saying a direct “no” is just not done.

Learning Japanese is difficult, and I expect to continue learning — and making embarrassing mistakes — for the rest of my life.

The post 3 Big Mistakes I Made in Learning Japanese first appeared on More Than Tokyo and is written by Diane Tincher.

It’s not as straightforward as you would think

I sometimes play a game with my English students. We ask the question, “How often do you…” and try to elicit the response we want — always, sometimes, hardly ever, or never. 

One of my students asked me, “How often do you say ‘Good morning’ to your children in the morning?” 

I could tell by the glint in her eyes, she thought she had an “always” answer in the bag!

Imagine her shock when I answered, “Hardly ever.”

“What? You don’t say “good morning” to your children in the morning?! Why not?”

She must have thought I was a very rude mother.

I explained, “Because I say, ‘Hi!’”

Something as simple as saying “Hi” is shocking because it is just not the way greetings are done in Japan. There is no anytime-of-the-day word for Hello in Japanese.

These are the four main greetings used:

Ohayō-gozaimasu (oh-ha-yo-go-zai-mä-su)

Ohayō-gozaimasu literally means, “You are early” and is used as “Good morning.” It’s generally used before about 10:00–11:00 when first seeing someone that day. 

Konnichiwa (con-nee-chi-wah)

Konnichiwa is the midday word for “Hello.” It literally means “Today is…” It’s probably the closest to “Hello.”

Konbanwa (con-bahn-wah)

Konbanwa means “Good evening,” or rather “This evening is…” 

Do people even say “Good evening” in English anymore? I usually say “Hello” or “Hi.”

Oyasuminasai (oh-ya-sue-me-nah-sigh)

Literally, “Rest!” In essence, oyasuminasai pretty much equals, “Good night.”

There is no Japanese Word for “Hello”

So, if you want to say “Hello” when you are in Japan, learn these four greetings. First make note of the time of day, then choose which one to use.

Alternatively, you could just not worry about the time and say, “Otsukaresama-desu!”

The post How To Say Hello in Japanese first appeared on More Than Tokyo and is written by Diane Tincher.

An all-purpose word of thanks and respect

Each time I walk into the locker room at the indoor swimming pool, every woman I pass greets me with, not Konnichiwa, Hello, as one might think, but with Otsukaresama desu.

I reply in turn, Otsukaresama desu.

When seeing a woman cleaning a public place, I smile and say, Otsukaresama desu.

While out for a walk, if I pass by other walkers or joggers, we exchange the greeting, Otsukaresama desu.

When I leave my job at the end of the day, I say to the woman at the reception desk, Otsukaresama deshita, this time using the past tense form.

What does this mouthful of a word mean?

The meaning of Otsukaresama desu (pronounced oh-tsu-ka-le-sämä des)

The literal meaning of the word is “tired way,” with the implication, “You look really tired from all your hard work. Thank you for giving it your all.” It acknowledges that the other’s efforts contribute to the betterment of society, even if only by making a better atmosphere through doing one’s best.

Some people have likened it to saying, “Good job!” or “Good on ya!” or “You rock!”

To me, otsukaresama desu conveys, “I respect you, and I think what you are doing is worthwhile.”

The beauty of otsukaresama desu is that it can be used in so many ways to acknowledge another’s efforts and communicate to them respect and appreciation.

Just now, a delivery man came to the door with a package. You’ll never guess what I said to him as he left.

Otsukaresama desu.

Read this post to learn how to say “Hello” in Japanese.

The post Otsukaresama Desu—A Japanese Word of Appreciation that English Could Use first appeared on More Than Tokyo and is written by Diane Tincher.