| Written Japanese has three sets of characters:
kanji, hiragana and katakana. There are about 50,000 kanji
characters but only about 3,000 are used in daily life. Kanji represent
nouns, verbs and adjectives. To show verb tense, endings known as hiragana
are added. These characters have different sounds but no meaning on their
own. The third set of characters, katakana, is used to make foreign words
pronounceable in Japanese. Local dialects vary from one region to another
and may be difficult for outsiders to understand. The Toyko dialect is
the closest to standard Japanese. |
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Did you know? |
| For
the Japanese the stomach is the centre of the emotions. Instead of having
heart-to-heart talks, the Japanese say they "open their stomachs" for a
good conversation. |
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| The Japanese bow as a greeting and to show respect
or gratitude. The depth of the bow depends on the occasion and on the social
status of the individuals involved. When bowing, Japanese keep their feet
together, and their back straight. Women put their hands on the front of
their legs and men keep their hands at their sides.
The Japanese smile can be difficult to interpret,
as it is used to convey happiness, anger, confusion, embarrassment, sadness
or disappointment. Communication includes the concept of omoi-yari,
which means interpreting the underlying meanings of a conversation. |
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| The Japanese nod their heads to show agreement
or concentration during a conversation. they also use small words called
aizuchi to indicate attentiveness. They signal a negative response
by holding a hand in front of the face and waving it back and forth sideways.
It is considered rude to point at others, chew gum, lean against a door,
or keep one’s hands in one’s pockets. When laughing, Japanese women are
expected to place their hand in front of their mouth to avoid showing their
teeth.
In Japanese, the family name precedes the
given name. Most Japanese are addressed by their family names. Given names
are used only for children or between close friends. sensei or san
may be added to the end of a name to indicate rank or position. Sensei
indicates respect. San is the equivalent of Mr. or Ms. |
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Did you know? |
| Many
Japanese enjoy manga (comic books). These books are not just for
children, but are enjoyed by many adults and tell realistic stories about
life and work. Many are published in weekly or monthly series. |
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English |
Japanese |
| Yes |
hai |
| No |
iie |
| Please (when offering
something) |
dozo |
| Please (when asking
for something) |
onegai shimasu |
| Thank you |
arigato gozaimasu |
| Good morning |
ohayo gozaimasu |
| Good afternoon |
konnichiwa |
| Goodbye |
sayonara |
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