Positive and negative responses
Differences in answers seen in Japanese and English
One of the interesting differences between English and Japanese is “how to answer questions”. When answering questions, there is a difference in thinking between Japanese and English. Unlike English, where you answer “Yes” or “No” to the fact you are asking, Japanese changes whether it is “yes” or “no” to the other party’s question. It may seem surprising, but it is also a point for Japanese people to learn English, watch movies, and be confused. Let’s get used to it little by little.
For example, for the question “Are you not busy?”
If you are not busy, in Japanese you will answer “Yes, I am not busy” in the form of “affirmation” + “denial”. On the other hand, in English, the question “Aren’t you busy?” Is answered with “No, I’m not (busy).” and “Negation” + “Negation”. This is a source of confusion and often causes unnecessary misunderstandings.
● Affirmative interrogative response
Japanese
English
なか
お腹すいていますか？
いえ、すいていません。
No. I’m not hungry.
Are you hungry?
No. I’m not.
● Negative interrogative response
Japanese
English
なか
お腹すいてなくないですか？
はい、すいていません。
Yes, I’m not hungry.
Aren’t you hungry?
No. I’m not.
● Negative sentence response
Japanese
English
なか
じゃあ、お腹すいてないのですね。
はい、すいていません。
Yes, I’m not hungry.
So you aren’t hungry.
No. I’m not.
As you can see, Japanese responds to “denial / affirmation” and English responds to “verbs”.
Even if you can understand these reactions with your head, they are hard to come up with.
Find a conversation partner and practice hard.
Example sentence
Thank you for reading! ありがとう。 Namu Shinnyo ■
