Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com! Gestures are all around us. We make many gestures every day. So many gestures do we make that we are often unaware that we’re making them. They’ve become second nature to us. Just the same for the folk in Japan. Japanese use many gestures, but they’re not the same ones we use. Do you know that some Japanese gestures are thousands of years old? Of course, they may not mean the same thing as they did a thousand years ago. That gesture meaning, “Your donkey is sitting in my cabbage patch making bad smells,” probably isn’t used any more. Learning the gestures of Japanese culture is even more fun than learning the language itself.
Learning Japanese with JapanesePod101.com is the most fun and effective way to learn Japanese! This Japanese lesson teaches you one of the everyday gestures used in Japan. You will learn how to say and gesture, “No way,” or “Never happen.” Visit us at JapanesePod101.com where you will find many more fantastic Japanese lessons and learning resources! Leave us a message while you are there!
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This entry was posted on Friday, December 25th, 2009 at 6:30 pm and is filed under Videos . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
16 Responses to “Video #88 - Japanese Body Language and Gestures 2”
Friday at 6:30 pm
Mina-san,
Here is our second Japanese body language video! Let us know what you think!!
And… Merry Christmas everyone!
Friday at 11:25 pm
Do men and women use the same gestures ?
Saturday at 12:05 am
I love the body language videos series!!! I’m looking forward to seeing the next one
Saturday at 12:11 am
and I think the next gesture is used to say “me”…
Am I right?
Saturday at 6:05 am
Stange in Italian this gesture means “Someone has farted”
Saturday at 6:56 am
SO GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday at 8:11 am
While I like the idea of this series, I would like to know more information about the use of the gestures
Are they used by both sexes?
Are they formal or informal?
Are they usually used by certain age groups only?
When would it be impolite to use the gesture?
Are there other gestures with the same meaning for different situations?
Perhaps this info could be put into a summary splash screen at the end of the video.
Sunday at 8:21 am
Probably safe to assume this is very informal. I would also like to know if males use this. These videos are my favorite so far. Kawaii!
Monday at 12:13 pm
CEDRICLさん： The way in which Hirokoちゃん uses the gestures is very feminine, with the overt flapping of the hand in front of the face and the wide-eyed look that accompanies the pointing to the nose gesture (also, her finger actually almost touching her nose). However, men can and do use understated versions of this, especially the とんでもない ’no way’ hand-flapping gesture, even if it’s just with the hand held slightly up and away from the body. I would say go ahead and use these gestures if you’re a man, but - as with exclamations such as かわいい！ - not to excess!
LNさん: Thank you! Please wait for your next installment of Hirokoちゃん!
… And PS… you may be correct!
Enricoさん： Different strokes!
babakさん： Thanks!!
Fierce Catさん：
Are they used by both sexes?
-> In a word, yes, but please see my answer to CEDRICLさん above!
Are they formal or informal?
-> Informal, but you may see toned-down versions in slightly more formal situations.
Are they usually used by certain age groups only?
-> No: they’re universal, but I would say the hand-flapping gesture is quite おばさんっぽい (middle-aged-woman-esque) if used too much!
When would it be impolite to use the gesture?
-> Well… In a formal business meeting, or when speaking to a senior teacher, for example, I think it would look childish and unprofessional to use either of these. Basically, I go with the rule that if you’re using keigo (polite language), then you’re -not- using these hand gestures. You don’t see politicians on TV in Japan using them!
Are there other gestures with the same meaning for different situations?
-> Hmm… I would say not with the exact same meaning as these.
‘Perhaps this info could be put into a summary splash screen at the end of the video.’
-> Thanks for the tip!
Maakuさん： They are pretty informal, yes. Please see my answer to CEDRICLさん above as to whether males use these gestures!
Tuesday at 2:43 am
ありがとうございます
Wednesday at 12:12 pm
JP101!
Great videos! BTW who are you Kat-san? are male or female? are you a new JP101 member?
Keep up the good work! and can’t wait for next year schedule. 
S_R_C
Thursday at 11:34 am
Thank you for the comments, Kat-san - It would be great if relevant usage information, such as given above, could be put in each video.
Sunday at 8:41 pm
How many common gestures exists?
Monday at 12:23 pm
Ｓｉｎｄｙシンディーさん： Thank you! Yes, I’m a new JP101 staff member and I am female
I’ll be hosting the new Newbie series with Naomi-sensei from this January onwards!
Fierce Catさん： You’re welcome! And good idea
Teskalさん： Hmm, it’s really difficult to give an exact number… but generally there’s a Japanese equivalent for almost every common gesture you can think of in English-speaking countries.
Friday at 8:25 am
I’m a bit confused about this one.
Does ‘no way’ mean ‘no way’ as in ‘I don’t believe what you’re telling me’ or ‘no way’ as in ‘I refuse whatever it is you want me to do’?
These are two quite distinct meanings, and I doubt that the gesture means both.
Ex. 1. “I met George Clooney the other day.” “No way!” (”Yes way!”)
Ex. 2. “Can I interest you in a set of encyclopedias?” “No way!”
Friday at 10:21 am
zeptimiusさん,
Good question - this “no way” doesn’t mean “I don’t believe you”, but rather “that’s outrageous!” or “you’re totally off/wrong!” - it can even have the nuance of “what are you talking about?!”
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