We need to pay attention to the business etiquette in the workplace, in particular in Japan because there are a lot of unique etiquettes which is not common globally. It may become embarrassing if you don’t learn and practice properly. From this week, I will present a series of lessons to show you the most […]
Bowing is a way of greeting, a way to show respect to others. Although the bowing as the representative of the Japanese way of greeting is mainly seen in East Asia, the West is also using it. 礼三息(れいさんそく) Bow includes “standing bow” and “seat bow”. According to the depth of the bow, it has 3 […]
The etiquettes in countries around the world are quite different. There are a variety of etiquettes in Japan, however, some of them provoke foreigners to think “why is it the case”. Hence, I will introduce 5 typical inconceivable etiquettes summarized from the internet. 1. Eat when walking Many foreigners who have been living in Japan […]
Keigo (敬語けいご) is difficult even for those who have been working in companies for a long time, in particular when answering a phone because it is not able to communicate by seeing each others’ face and body language. Undoubtedly, how people answer phone calls is very critical for the corporate image. Today, I will introduce […]
Japanese is famous for their extremely strict punctuality because punctuality is regarded as a virtue in Japan. The most well-known example is the train (電車でんしゃ). The standard error of the train schedule is 1 minute. More amazingly, Shinkansen (新幹線しんかんせん), known as the bullet train, has the standard error of only 15 seconds. Japanese usually get […]
Don’t be surprised. Yes, I’ll introduce the etiquette for using the umbrella today. Unlike Australia, Japan doesn’t have wide roads or spacious sidewalks but with a relatively large population. It is quite annoying walking on the congested streets particularly in rainy days where everyone uses an umbrella. Hence, people are usually careful about not bothering […]
Continuing our topic, I will introduce the last two vocabularies about wife: 家内(かない) and かみさん. 家内(かない) 家内(かない) used to mean “inside the house”. However, interestingly, a huge “revolution” happened to this word in 明治時代(めいじじだい, 1868 – 1912). During that period, Japan had gradually transformed to have the same social system as western countries. […]
Last week we have learned about the history of妻(つま), 嫁(よめ). Do you still remember the difference? 妻(つま) is the female who is permitted by parents to live with a male. 嫁(よめ) is “son’s wife”. Today I will introduce女房(にょうぼう) and 奥さん(おくさん). 女房(にょうぼう) In 平安時代(へいあんじだい, 794 – 1192), there had always been several mates working […]
I believe many of you have learned vocabularies about “wife”. As shown in the title, there are a lot of different ways to call “wife”. I know. I know. Quite confusing, right? In the following weeks, I will introduce the history about where these “wives” come from and when to use of each of them. […]
Last week we have learned the words which cannot be used together with “ほしい・たい”. However, if you use wrongly them to superiors such as your boss, professor, etc., it could be horribly impoliteness. Thus, today we will have a deeper insight about how to use them by going through some examples. Annaさん(a friend)、明日どこへ行きたいですか？(Where do […]