| Welcome to Fun and Easy Japanese by JapanesePod101.com! |
| There are many Japanese words that don’t exist in the English language. Do you know what they are? |
| Keep watching to learn more! |
| こんにちは、りさです。 |
| Hi everyone! I’m Risa. |
| In this lesson, you’ll learn our top 10 untranslatable Japanese words. |
| These words don’t have English equivalents, so they’re going to require a bit of an explanation. |
| But if you learn these words, you’ll not only sound more natural, but also gain insight into unique Japanese views and values. |
| So without further ado, let’s get started! |
| Our first untranslatable word is |
| いただきます (Itadakimasu) |
| Literally, "I eat or I receive." |
| [SLOW] いただきます |
| いただきます |
| This is probably one of the best-known Japanese phrases. You might have heard it already in Japanese movies or TV Shows. |
| The meaning behind this phrase is, "I’m thankful for this food and I will start to eat." |
| You might think to translate this as "bon appetit," but the meaning is quite different. While "bon appetit" is used by the person serving the food, to wish their guest a good meal, いただきます is used by the receiving person to express their gratitude for the food. |
| So if you’re about to eat ramen, you could say |
| 美味しそうなラーメン！いただきます。 |
| (Oishisō na Rāmen! Itadakimasu.) |
| "The Ramen looks yummy! Itadakimasu." |
| [SLOW] 美味しそうなラーメン！いただきます。 |
| 美味しそうなラーメン！いただきます。 |
| Continuing on the topic of food, the next word is |
| ごちそうさま (Gochisō-sama) |
| Literally, "delicious food, treat, feast or banquet" |
| [SLOW] ごちそうさま |
| ごちそうさま |
| The meaning of this word is "I finished eating" and "thank you for the food." |
| This is said after eating to show that you’re thankful for the meal, and the honorific suffix sama is used as a way of expressing respect. |
| After having dinner made by your mother, you could say, for example, |
| ごちそうさま。お母さん、今日の夕食はとても美味しかったよ！ |
| (Gochisō-sama. O-kā-san, kyō no yūshoku wa totemo oishikatta yo!) |
| "Gochisō-sama. Tonight's dinner was really good, mom!" |
| [SLOW] ごちそうさま。お母さん、今日の夕食はとても美味しかったよ！ |
| ごちそうさま。お母さん、今日の夕食はとても美味しかったよ！ |
| Note that you can say Gochisō-sama after finishing a meal at home, in a restaurant, and on pretty much any occasion. |
| If you want to say it more politely in a more formal situation, you can add deshita to the end: |
| ごちそうさまでした (Gochisō-sama deshita). |
| It’s good Japanese table manners to say Itadakimasu and Gochisō-sama during meals. |
| Let’s continue with |
| お疲れ様 (Otsukare-sama) |
| Literally, "(You must be) tired." |
| [SLOW] お疲れ様 |
| お疲れ様 |
| Otsukare-sama can have different meanings depending on the situation. It can mean "hello," "well done," "you must be tired," "see you," "good-bye" or even "cheers." |
| So, you can say it to mean "well done" or "good job," |
| or to express to someone that you’re thankful for something they’ve done. |
| And you can use it to say "you must be tired" to show that you care for that person. |
| In addition, it’s also commonly used as a work greeting when leaving the office or meeting with colleagues. |
| For example, when leaving work, you can say |
| お疲れ様です。また明日。(Otsukare-sama desu. Mata ashita.) |
| "See you tomorrow." |
| [SLOW] お疲れ様です。また明日。 |
| お疲れ様です。また明日。 |
| Or another situation to use it would be |
| 会議でのプレゼンお疲れ様。(Kaigi de no purezen otsukare-sama.) |
| "Well done on the presentation at the meeting." |
| [SLOW] 会議でのプレゼンお疲れ様 |
| 会議でのプレゼンお疲れ様 |
| Next on our list of untranslatable words is |
| ありがた迷惑 (Arigata Meiwaku) |
| Literally, "Thankful Annoyance" |
| [SLOW] ありがた迷惑 |
| ありがた迷惑 |
| This phrase is used to describe a situation when someone does something for you that you didn’t necessarily want them to do, but you still think you should be grateful for it. |
| Let’s say your neighbour brings you a cake every time he or she bakes something. You’re very grateful for the gesture, but you never actually eat those cakes. This gesture would be considered an Arigata Meiwaku. |
| This phrase reflects the Japanese mentality which puts importance on being polite to others and maintaining harmony without causing conflict. |
| Japanese people can’t easily say "No," especially when it comes to favors and offerings, because people think saying "no" will hurt or offend the other person’s feelings, and would thereby cause some sort of conflict. |
| Our next word is |
| おじゃまします (Ojama shimasu) |
| Literally, this means "I will disturb you." |
| [SLOW] おじゃまします |
| おじゃまします |
| The cultural meaning of this one is more like, "Allow me to visit or enter your home." This is a greeting you’d use when you enter someone's home, and it is used to show gratitude to the host for the invitation. |
| In Japan, we usually say ojama shimasu whenever visiting someone's home. It would be rude to enter someone's house without saying this. |
| When we leave someone’s house, we say Ojama shimashita, which is the past tense of Ojama shimasu. |
| Remember to say ojama shimasu every time you enter someone else's home. |
| おじゃまします。すごく広くて素敵なお家ですね。 |
| (Ojama shimasu. Sugoku hirokute suteki na o-uchi desu ne.) |
| "Ojama shimasu. Your house is very spacious and nice." |
| [SLOW] おじゃまします。すごく広くて素敵なお家ですね。 |
| おじゃまします。すごく広くて素敵なお家ですね。 |
| Next on our list is |
| もったいない (Mottainai) |
| Literally, "No dignity or importance" |
| [SLOW] もったいない |
| もったいない |
| This can be translated as "what a waste." |
| This phrase may be used when something that’s still useful or worth something is either not being used, or is going to be thrown away. |
| Let’s visualize this with an example: |
| お腹いっぱいだからと言って、食べ物を捨てるのはもったいないよ。(Onaka ippai dakaratoitte, tabemono o suteru no wa mottainai yo." |
| "It is a waste to throw away food just because you are full." |
| [SLOW] お腹いっぱいだからと言って、食べ物を捨てるのはもったいないよ。 |
| お腹いっぱいだからと言って、食べ物を捨てるのはもったいないよ。 |
| This phrase comes from the Japanese mentality which puts value on treating things well and taking good care of things to use them for a long time. |
| While the English word "waste" has negative nuances such as worthless, useless, and unwanted, in Japanese, mottainai contains positive nuances such as worthy and valuable. |
| It also expresses regret that something that is still useful isn’t being used to its full potential. |
| This may be one of the most beautiful untranslatable Japanese words. |
| Let’s have a look at our next phrase: |
| 高嶺の花 (Takane no Hana) |
| Literally, "Flower on a high peak." |
| [SLOW] 高嶺の花 |
| 高嶺の花 |
| This is one of the most creative untranslatable Japanese words. It describes a woman who seems out of reach and who’s not easy to get familiar with. |
| Takane no Hana is a metaphor which comes from the fact that flowers on high peaks are not easy to get. |
| It includes the feeling of admiration, and is used to express that a woman is too perfect to be attainable. |
| Let’s continue with |
| 懐かしい (Natsukashii) |
| Literally, this means "nostalgic." |
| [SLOW] 懐かしい (Natsukashii) |
| 懐かしい (Natsukashii) |
| This word is used to express nostalgia. So you’d feel Natsukashii when you find something from your past, like childhood toys, and they bring back a lot of fond memories. |
| Let’s use an example to see the meaning: |
| 高校の卒業アルバムを実家で見つけた！懐かしい思い出ばかりだよ。(Kōkō no sotsugyō arubamu o jikka de mitsuketa! Natsukashii omoide bakari da yo.) |
| "I found my high school yearbook at my parents’ house. It's full of memories of the good old days." |
| [SLOW] 高校の卒業アルバムを実家で見つけた！懐かしい思い出ばかりだよ。 |
| 高校の卒業アルバムを実家で見つけた！懐かしい思い出ばかりだよ。 |
| Now for number nine: |
| よろしくお願いします (Yoroshiku onegai shimasu) |
| Literally, this means "Suitable favor please." |
| [SLOW] よろしくお願いします |
| よろしくお願いします |
| This phrase has many meanings, depending on what situation it’s used in, and all the meanings are quite useful. |
| It can, for example, mean "Nice to meet you," "Best regards," and "Favorably, please," to show your gratitude and humbleness in hoping to have a good relationship from that point forward. |
| Yoroshiku onegai shimasu can be used in a variety of situations, especially when you’re new to something, such as when meeting new people, when you start a new job or project, or when someone’s going to take care of you. |
| Let’s say Ms. Tanaka is entering a new class. |
| She might say |
| 今日からこのクラスに参加する田中です。よろしくお願いします。 |
| (Kyō kara kono kurasu ni sanka suru Tanaka desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.) |
| "I’m Tanaka and I’ll be starting this class from today. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu." |
| [SLOW] 今日からこのクラスに参加する田中です。よろしくお願いします。 |
| 今日からこのクラスに参加する田中です。よろしくお願いします。 |
| And our last untranslatable word is |
| わびさび (Wabi Sabi) |
| Literally, "Frugal," "Simple and Quiet," or "Silent." |
| [SLOW] わびさび |
| わびさび |
| This is a concept, or view, of Japanese beauty. |
| It involves accepting and valuing things which are natural and transient, as well as imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. |
| This means, for example, if we look at an asymmetrical wooden table with a natural and original shape, we can find beauty in its imperfection according to Wabi Sabi. |
| Wabi sabi is also used to express the concept of valuing simplicity and humility, rather than luxury and impressiveness. |
| And there you have it! |
| In this lesson, you learned 10 useful untranslatable Japanese words! |
| But, if you want to speak even more Japanese and learn in the fastest, easiest and most fun way, go to JapanesePod101 dot com and sign up for your FREE lifetime account right now. Get our complete learning program with real lessons by real teachers. |
| That’s it for today! |
| See you next time! |
| またね！ |
Comments
Hide