Ichimon Japan Podcasts

Do you have any funny or embarrassing Japanese mistake stories? (Part 2) | Ichimon Japan 37

By Tony Dot Vega

Posted on February 21, 2021

8 min read

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On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: Do you have any funny or embarrassing Japanese mistake stories?

Topics Discussed

How “sayonara” is not used in most situations when saying “goodbye” in Japanese
A mix up at a convenience store
Getting used to referring to people in the Japanese language
What exactly a rōtari is
Being asian
Dealing with people that want to speak English even when they’re English ability is poor
Mixing up yasui (cheap) with yasai)
The tricky situation that people with Asian features who are not fluent speakers of Japanese often find themselves in Japan
A peculiar usage of the term shikkari and shikkari shiro
And much more!

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Sources, Links, Videos, Etc.

This episode features Kyle Broyles as a special guest. If you would like to follow him on Twitter, please use the link below.

Kyle Broyles on Twitter

Kyle is one of the hosts of the Tokyo Splosion podcast. If you would like to check his podcast out, you can look it up wherever you get your podcasts or use the links below.

To listen to the other Ichimon Japan episodes that Kyle Broyles was a guest on, use the links below.

To listen to the first “Japanese mistakes” episode of Ichimon Japan, use the link below.

Do you have any funny or embarrassing Japanese language mistake stories? | Ichimon Japan 30

To listen to the latest episode of Japan Station, use the link below.

Obscenity, Censorship & Erotic Comics in Japan (Patrick W. Galbraith) | Japan Station 59

To pick up a t-shirt and support the show, check out KimotoDesigns.com

KimitoDesigns.com

Japanese Vocabulary List

Most episodes feature at least one or two interesting Japanese words or phrases. Here’s some of the ones that came up on this episode. All information is from Jim Breen’s WWWJDIC.

Onigiri
- おにぎり (n) (pol) onigiri; rice ball (often triangular, sometimes with a filling and wrapped in nori)
Rootari
- ロータリ (n) traffic circle; circle; rotary; roundabout
Yasai
- 野菜【やさい】 (n,adj-no) vegetable
Yasui
- 安い(P); 廉い【やすい】 (adj-i) (1) cheap; inexpensive; (adj-i) (2) (安い only) calm; peaceful; quiet
Tsumetai
- 冷たい【つめたい(P); つべたい】 (adj-i) (1) (ant: 熱い・1) cold (to the touch); chilly; icy; freezing
Doobutsuen
- 動物園【どうぶつえん】 (n) zoo; zoological gardens
Daibutsu
- 大仏【だいぶつ】 (n) large statue of Buddha (trad. at least 4.8m high)
Shikkari
- しっかり (adv,adv-to,vs) (1) (on-mim) tightly (holding on); firmly; securely; (adv,adv-to,vs) (2) (uk) (on-mim) strongly (built); solidly; sturdily; steadily; (adv,adv-to,vs) (3) (uk) (on-mim) properly; well; sufficiently; hard (working, etc.); fully; completely; (adv,adv-to,vs) (4) (uk) (on-mim) reliably; dependably; levelheadedly; shrewdly; wisely; cleverly
Shikkari shiro
- しっかりしろ (exp) pull yourself together; get a grip; get a hold of yourself; come on
Ou
- 負う【おう】 (v5u,vt) (1) (See 背負う・1) to bear; to carry on one’s back; (v5u,vt) (2) to take responsibility for; to accept a duty; (v5u,vt) (3) to receive (wound); to incur (damage); to be injured; (v5u,vt) (4) to owe

We Want Your Questions

Is there something about Japan that confuses you? Is there something about Japanese culture that you would like to learn more about? Is there something in Japanese history that you would like us to explain? We’re always looking for new questions about Japan to answer, so if you have one, please send it to ichimon@japankyo.com.