5 Difficulties of Japanese as Seen by a Fluent Foreigner

[Review/Summary]

MrFuji from Japan x matt vs japan I watched the collaboration video.

Matt, an American, is a famous YouTuber known for being a foreigner who is good at Japanese.

In this video, Matt talks about the difficult aspects of the Japanese language.

It is very interesting because he digs deeper than what is generally said.

5 Difficulties of Japanese

1) Word accents and sentence intonation change

・Even if the accent is the same for a single word, the intonation changes when you add "~desu./~masu."
Ex)

Hana (flower), Hana (nose) are the same, but
Hana desu./Hana desu. are different
Kau (to buy), Kau (to keep a pet)

Katte imasu. (buying)/Katte imasu. (keeping) are different, but
Kaimasu. (buy)/Kaimasu. (keep) are the same

~You can tell the difference when you say them out loud.

・When two words are connected, sometimes the accent changes and sometimes it doesn't

Ex)
Keitai, Denwa and Keitaidenwa... changes
Gaishutsu, Kinshi and Gaishutsukinshi... does not change

・Words where the meaning changes based on accent
Ex)
WAnchan (one chance): wanchan (dog)
kurabu (club activity): kurabu (social club)
pantsu (pants): pantsu (underwear)

~It is precisely because he learned Japanese as a foreign language that he notices these differences.
Matt's analytical skills are amazing.

2) Place names and personal names

Example: Reading difficulty quiz
Can you read this?
Shimukappu
☟
☟
☟
☟
☟
☟
☟
Shimukappu
(A place name in Hokkaido derived from the Ainu language)

~Even Japanese people sometimes don't know this.
Yamazakisan, whether it is 'saki' or 'zaki' is something
you can't know unless you ask the person themselves.

3) There are too many words with almost the same meaning

Example: Josei, joshi, onnanoko, onna, onna no hito, fujin, shukujo...
→ The nuances of how to use them are difficult

Example: iru, aru
The basic distinction is
'Living things' use 'iru', and 'objects' use 'aru'

People 'iru', corpses 'aru'
Fish 'iru', grilled fish 'aru'

But what about ghosts?
What about robots?
Why do we say 'iru' even though they aren't alive?

- Meanings are different between Japanese and English
Example:
Juice: In Japan, cola is also considered a type of juice, but in English, it is called soda.
In English, fruit juice is called juice.

Diet: In Japan, it means trying to lose weight.
In English, it means following a specific diet.
(Not necessarily for the purpose of losing weight)

4) There are too many onomatopoeia (sound-symbolic words)

Foreigners don't get it even when feelings are expressed through sounds
Pain (zukizuki, piripiri, gangan, chikuchiku, shikushiku...)
Things that are simple for Japanese people are difficult for foreigners

~It is certainly difficult to master things that are based on sensation.
Even in 'Easy Japanese', we don't use onomatopoeia.

5) It is difficult to develop a 'Japanese brain'

Example:
Japanese people raised in Japan say'wakaranai' (I don't understand) while
Japanese people raised in America say'shiranai' (I don't know)

For example, in a reply when you are asked something,
the feeling received is different between
'wakaranai' and 'shiranai'

'Wakaranai' is more common and softer, but
being told 'shiranai' feels cold and dismissive

In English,
'Do you understand?' is said to sound condescending

~I found the comparison with English, in particular, very interesting.
It is difficult to master the subtle nuances
that only a native speaker would understand.

Because native speakers use them unconsciously,
the average Japanese person cannot explain them.

That is why Matt
asks, "How would a Japanese person say this in this situation?"
It seems that by doing so, he is gradually grasping the Japanese sense of things,
and even though he is so fluent,
I admire Matt for his pursuit of a Japanese-speaking brain.

This also applies to English learners.
Rather than asking, "How do you say this Japanese in English?"
asking, "How would an American say this in this situation?"
allows you to learn English that can be used in actual communication,
which is what Matt said, and I thought it made a lot of sense.

Even if you try to learn a foreign language through translation,
you cannot grasp the intuitive nuances of the language,
and I don't think you can break through the intermediate wall.

As a Japanese teacher,
I found this very interesting and learned a lot.

☟If you would like to watch the video, please click here

I received a congratulatory board.
Thank you to everyone who read and liked this.

🌈Special Thanks to chigu (Cover Illustration Creator)
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