Japanese Grammar of Mind and Language (11) Analysis of Japanese Sentences (3) 'Chotto, nai you desu nee' (1)

[Example 3]

Chotto, nai you desu nee. (It seems we don't have it, I'm afraid.)

[Explanation]
The characteristic of the Japanese language, which requires that one must linguistically express one's attitude toward the other party, is natural for Japanese people, but it can be said to be a unique linguistic form from a global perspective.

This type of linguistic form does not exist not only in Western languages, including English, but also in Chinese.

Of course, expressing an attitude toward a matter is done in every language, but there is probably almost no other language that shows this much 'consideration' toward the other party.

Peng Fei, a Chinese scholar of the Japanese language, introduces the following anecdote [1].

Once, when Mr. Peng entered a shop and asked, 'Do you have such-and-such?', the shopkeeper searched the shop thoroughly and then replied, 'Chotto, nai you desu nee.'

Mr. Peng was very surprised by the shopkeeper's words.

This is because the shopkeeper had searched the entire shop right in front of Mr. Peng, and since the item was not there, wouldn't 'Arimasen' (We don't have it) have been sufficient?

However, in reality, he said 'Chotto, nai you desu nee'—for Mr. Peng, who had just begun studying Japanese, he did not understand at all what this 'chotto' was or what 'you desu nee' meant.

If you are Japanese, you can naturally understand why the shopkeeper would not say 'Arimasen' in the situation above.

Saying 'Arimasen' feels too blunt, and I feel like it would rub the person looking for the item the wrong way.

If I were the customer, I would also think that I wouldn't want to be spoken to in that way. Therefore, one adds 'chotto' and 'you desu nee' out of consideration so as not to disappoint the other person even a little.

This is a very natural way of thinking for a Japanese person, but we must remember that for people of other cultures (including not only Westerners but also Asians such as the Chinese), such a way of thinking is not natural.

However, this does not mean that people other than Japanese cannot show 'consideration'.

People other than Japanese can express consideration in other forms of linguistic expression.

In the example above, an English expression close to 'Chotto, nai you desu nee' would be something like, 'I’m sorry, but we don’t have any stock here.' If this is used, part of the consideration expressed by 'chotto' and 'you desu nee' should be conveyed in English as well.

Chotto, nai you desu nee.
I’m sorry, but we don’t have any stock here.

Of course, the quality and quantity of consideration in 'I’m sorry' and 'Chotto... nai you desu nee' are completely different, so it is not a one-to-one correspondence.

You cannot use 'I’m sorry' for the 'Chotto... you desu nee' in the sentence, 'With your current grades, it seems a bit difficult to pass [University Name].'

Using 'I’m sorry' is for situations of very clear consideration, not for situations of 'slight' consideration like 'Chotto... you desu nee'.

[1] 'Communication between Japanese and Chinese: "Chotto" is a bit... Dr. Peng Fei's Wonders of the Japanese Language', Peng Fei, Izumi Shoin