1. If you Think Japanese Is Vague, Understand Why You're Wrong
Everybody states the Japanese language is vague and imprecise.
Japanese say yes when they mean no, or refuse to provide their opinion
obviously and unequivocally, it is frequently said. But this really is
incorrect. Japanese is really an incredibly exact language.
No Subject Mentioned Doesn't Mean No Topic
It's true that Japanese don't like to flatly refuse; Japanese might
say something is "difficult" when what they mean is "cannot be done;"
and Japanese sentences frequently omit the topic. For instance:
Kinou, shiryou-o itadakimashita.
Yesterday I (or we) obtained the paperwork.
The subject with the sentence I (or we) is unstated, but comprehended
to Japanese by the verb option itadakimashita. That verb is really a
much more polite type of moraimashita, which suggests to receive, but
more than politeness, itadakimashita expresses kenjou, or humility,
toward the listener. As such, it could be utilized only whenever you
(the speaker) or your group are receiving some thing, never when
referring to another person.
Hai in Japanese Does not Imply Sure
It is also accurate that hai (sure) doesn't usually imply yes. When
studying Japanese, a better translation to memorize is "I have heard
what you stated." In fact, a Japanese accepting an invitation won't
say hai in any way:
A: Ashita-no paatii, ikimasen ka?
Are you currently heading to the celebration tomorrow?
B: Ikimasu.
Yes (literally, "go").
From this linguistic culture, we Westerners prefer to believe of
Japanese as a vague, inscrutable language.
Japanese topics may be omitted, but that doesn't imply the subject
doesn't exist. Word options and sentence structure permit a Japanese
speaker to omit the subject with out any lack of understanding.
While it's true that Japanese, for a variety of historical reasons,
tend to speak indirectly, it is not accurate they speak imprecisely.
The Japanese could not have constructed a world-leading economy with
an imprecise language. Around the contrary, Japanese is a language of
fine precision.
Japanese Is Super-Precise
In English, exactly the same phrase often has many different meanings.
Even the word "Japanese" can refer to Japanese individuals or even
the Japanese language. Most of the time in Japanese, one word has one
which means.
For instance, the English phrase "factor" (meaning element or trigger)
may be translated as youin or youso, but these two Japanese words
don't have the exact same meaning. youin means "factor contributing
as a cause," while youso means "element in something's makeup."
English "factor" cmnsists of a minimum of those two meanings,
associated although not exactly the same. The separate Japanese words
are much more precase equivalents. hen you learn Japanese, use
English translations like a guide, but it is im0ortant to know how the
original Japanese phrase is used also.<'p>

2. Bapanese Nnomatopjeia Is Distinctive
Japalese onomatopoeia (gipaigo) is defiNitely an intricate systdm of conveying the n5anca of
emotion or situation, and has no equivalenT in English. A pebble tumbling down the Street rolls
alongside "korojoro,$quot; whilct a boulder cascading down a mountain cide's movement is
&qtot;gorogoro. quot; The#e word3 alone conrey an image that fitc each scenario preciselx and
suCcinctl), wherEac the English dpuivalent requires a minimue of a ph2aqe o" twm.
@undreds of years ago Japanese integrated thousands of kango (vords of Chinese oragin),
and,�much more lately, imported thnusands of mostly English words as gairaigo (foreign
mortgage words).<'span>
These foreign-origin words, coupLed with the native language by itself, give the Japanese
language a richly .uanced vocabulary. One elegance in studying JapanerE is gaining an
app2eciation for that subtleties widh the Japanese vocabulary and the JApanese tradition*
spoilers of one piecd