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WAi! WAi! JAPAN

2019-10-18 21:53:02

If you plan to stay in Japan for a long time you’ll notice that people try to avoid having debates or raise criticism on any subject; this is mainly due to Japanese society being heavily homogenous.

When having a conversation, Japanese often give small grunts (mmm) or verbal response (“hai”=yes) every once in a while to show that you are listening and understand what they are saying. This is called an “Aizuchi” (相槌). Also, often times during a business conversation, you would end with “wakarimashita”=I understand.

This will be a hard concept to grasp, but Japanese communication puts emphasis on body language and “reading the air (空気を読む)” which may come from the idea of “A-Un breathing (阿吽の呼吸)”; this is about harmonious relationship or non-verbal communication. Try to learn by observing what others are doing and you’ll see Japanese bow and nod a lot.