Quote:
Originally Posted by YuriTokoro
Hi.
Could someone correct my English?
If my sentences seem to be strange, or you have better and more natural expressions, please tell me.
How to say “Hello” in the Japanese language.
I have heard that native English speakers do not like to repeat as they have just said. Is this right? For example, when you said, “Hello”, you would not repeat the word and would say some other greetings. When you are said “Nice to meet you”, you would use “good to see you” or some other expressions.
In Japan, you don’t need to change phrases you have just been said. “Hello” is “Konnichiwa”, and when you are greeted with “Konnichiwa”, you should reply saying “Konnichiwa”. If it is after sunset, people would say “Konbanwa”, so you should respond saying “Konbanwa.” No Japanese people would regard that your vocabularies are poor or that you are not greeting from your heart when you repeat.
To be honest, I do not see why you need to show you have various expressions all the time when you speak in English. [Give examples of how they try to show various expressions] Why? If you let me say something else, many native English speakers always seem to try to present their power and strength. I believe that it must be only natural in some countries, but things are opposite in Japan. People try to avoid showing their strength.
Have you seen Sumo wrestling? It’s the traditional Japanese-style wrestling. When a sumo-wrestler from a foreign country held up his fists when he became a champion, Japanese people criticized him, saying “He showed off his victory.” We prefer coolness.
In 1998, the Japanese soccer team first went to the World Cup and then, they needed to learn how to express their joy by raising their arms and running around. They thought the Japanese style would seem too calm among many countries.
Anyway, you do not need to represent [make a display of, show off] your strength in Japan. If you do, people may dislike you, if the worst happens. However, it’s only too natural for you, and you might not understand what I mean here. Just keep in mind that humility is prized in Japan, if you are planning to come to Japan.
Thank you!
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Koir said that you should put 'told.' instead of 'have been said.'
Putting 'If you are told, "Konbanwa"' might make sense in the context but I think 'told' is used in context of communicating certain information, not greeting.
If you put 'told,' some people might think some things were deleted between. Perhaps readers might think it might actually be "If you are told that... 'Konbanwa' ..." or "If you are told to say 'Konbanwa'...," but only after they have read the whole paragraph they would be certain that 'told' means 'to have been greeted with.'
It can be just 'greeted.': "If you are greeted, Konbanwa."