Being polite, shy, organized and a hard worker is probably some of the words associated when describing a Japanese person. Needless to say, but after living in Japan for 4 years, I would also say this description is kind of true. Many positive descriptions about them, but I do believe many, especially tourists have not had a real chance to sit down and have a more “normal” or “casual” conversation with them. I was rather quite surprised when I first got a glance seeing how Japanese interact with each other. Of course, it is different depending on situation and relationship between the people, but I believe it is rather quite interesting and is a good tip for anyone learning Japanese. Learning a language does not only comes with memorizing vocabulary, but also comes with learning how to behave, this is especially true when it comes to Japanese.
My first glance at seeing how Japanese interact was when I went to a Japanese convenience store for the first time. Although, I am a foreigner I was treated the same as any Japanese costumer. The clerks and cashiers were very nice to me. When I noticed how they spoke to the Japanese customers, it was exactly the same behavior. I also noticed some of the customers did not use formal speech, but more casual. I figured out that is probably due to them being regular customers at this convenience store and even some of the staff would ask how their day has been. Although, it is quite normal in many other countries for the clerks and cashiers to ask a customer how their day has been, it is not that common for Japanese to ask this unless they are comfortable and has some sense of relationship with someone. One YouTube channel we can note this from is “もしもしゆうすけ” (Moshi Moshi Yuusuke). Most of Yuusuke’s videos depict him travelling throughout a city in Japan, talking to himself so that the viewer can learn common Japanese phrases, but also see how Japanese interact with him and the world around them. In one of his videos, he visits a Japanese convenience store and there you can get a glimpse of how he interacts with a total stranger at a convenience store. Japanese are indeed very polite to each other, even when they do not know each other. I would recommend watching many of Yuusuke’s videos if you plan to come to Japan as he showcases real-life scenarios you will definitely experience if you come to Japan. You might be able to pick up some useful phrases as well.
Another aspect that is common for Japanese to think about when interacting with others is acknowledging their “Senpai” (先輩) or “Kouhai” (後輩) relationship. A translation for senpai would perhaps be “upperclassmen”, while a translation for kouhai would be “junior”. Typically, if someone is the same age or they are the same batch in school or work, they will treat each other equal. Sure, it is common to start using formal speech with each other, but this is normal for anyone in Japan. After you have known someone for at least a few weeks, and perhaps shared personal information with them, it is okay for them to drop their formal speech and speak more casually. This can be noted from if Japanese have nicknames for each other and can also be easily noticed on the way they are greeting each other. A great example to see how Japanese treat each other formerly, but are somewhat casual as well can be noted from the Youtube Channel “マフィア梶田と中村悠一の『わしゃがなTV』(Mafia Kajita and Nakamura Yuuichi’s Washyagana TV). Mafia Kajita is known as a famous TV personality on Japanese TV and Nakamura Yuichi is known as a famous Japanese voice actor voicing famous anime characters such as Gojo Satoru from Jujutsu Kaisen and Gray Fullbuster from Fairy Tail. Both of them are hosts of the channel but are also close friends. Because they are coworkers and friends their speech pattern does regularly change between formal and casual speech depending on topic and guest they might have on the show. When inviting other celebrity guests on their show, it can be noted that many of the young celebrities will treat the two hosts with respect and only use formal speech. This channel is recommended for those that can already understand a lot of Japanese, but if you have small knowledge of Japanese speech patterns then it should not be too difficult to notice the change of speech pattern and formality.
Lastly, one that may be surprising to many is seeing how close friends in Japan speak to each other. Japanese are notorious for making fun of their friends and laughing A LOT. A worthy channel to mention is therefore “SUSHI RAMEN {Riku}”. Riku is one of the most famous Japanese Youtubers from Japan. With his friends and family, they create crazy projects very similar to the TV show Mythbusters. Their creations range from popping 5 million kernels of popcorn to hiding as a ninja from Riku’s grandma. Essentially their main target of the channel is to make people laugh. Riku is notoriously known for his energetic personality as he always yells, laughs a lot and has a VERY INFORMAL SPEECH PATTERN. Of course, this does not mean he is a rude person. It just means he is very close to his friends and family as they always tease each other. Of course, speaking informally to a stranger such as dropping “Masu” (ます) and “Desu” (です), in addition using slang to a stranger would be considered rude to a Japanese. However, for Riku and his family it demonstrates their closeness.
Overall, the way Japanese speak to each other is very similar to other countries in that sense that people speak differently depending on the people they are interacting with. However, it is important to note that the way you speak and behave around others in Japan might be a deciding factor for how they will portray you in their mind. Learning Japanese is not easy, but Japanese do really appreciate when foreigners learn their language. Japanese is a fun language which strongly emphasizes on speech patterns and level of formality. Hopefully when you come to Japan, you might be able to pick up these speech patterns when you visit the country. Maybe you can try them with Japanese as well.
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