The power of Japanese words

Woordenschat

• 言霊soul/spirit of words
• 忌み言葉taboo words
• 言い換えeuphemism / rephrasing
• 婉曲表現indirect expression
• 含蓄implicit meaning / depth
• 余韻lingering resonance
• 言外の意味meaning beyond words
• 暗示suggestion / implication
• 行間を読むread between the lines
• 沈黙は金silence is golden
• 本音と建前true feelings vs public stance
• 以心伝心heart-to-heart communication

Uitdrukkingen

• 言葉には力があるWords have power
• 空気を読んで発言するTo speak after reading the atmosphere
• 察してほしいI want you to understand without being told
• 言わなくてもわかるでしょうYou should understand without me saying it
• ちょっと考えさせてくださいLet me think about it (often means no)
• 言葉を慎むTo be careful with one own words

Veelgemaakte fouten

• ✗Being too direct when refusing
  ✓Use 婉曲表現 like ちょっと難しいですね

  Direct refusal (いいえ、できません) sounds harsh; Japanese indirectness is not evasion but politeness

• ✗Ignoring 忌み言葉 at ceremonies
  ✓Avoid words associated with separation or death at weddings

  Saying 切る (cut) at a wedding or 重ね重ね (repeatedly) suggests repeated misfortune

• ✗Taking 建前 statements literally
  ✓Learn to read the 本音 behind polite facades

  前向きに検討します (we will consider it positively) usually means the answer is no

• ✗Expressing emotions too explicitly
  ✓Use understatement and leave room for 余韻

  Japanese communication values restraint; ちょっと寂しい conveys deep sadness more powerfully than direct expression

• ✗Filling every silence in conversation
  ✓Silence in Japanese is meaningful, not awkward

  沈黙は金 — silence shows respect, contemplation, or agreement; forcing speech disrupts natural flow

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