By Claytonian
Part 1: Thank you very much
Words of thanks are usually among the first that one learns when they start a new language. After all, the situations where you have to use them are so ubiquitous that they come up all the time. I'd like to do a little primer for you on some of the words for expressing appreciation and apology and their history. Because when it comes to Japan and its culture, the way these words are used can be pretty interesting.
First, every Japanese 101 student knows どうも有難うございます (doumo arigatou gozaimasu). It's kind of odd that we learn this phrase all at once, because it is actually three words, one of which is a weird conjugation and another that is rather old-fashioned. And nobody tells you about the fascinating things that are dripping out of your mouth when you are a beginning Japanese Jabber. I'll break each part down for you.
First, doumo is kind of like "very" in English. It is so associated with expressions of thanks that it it is more or less equivalent to "thanks" on its own. Also, it has taken on a kind of greeting nuance, and can be used as a "hi" or a "bye". Sometimes, Japanese people admit they're not sure which of its nuances they are using when they say it.
Then we come to arigatou. It's actually a rare (conjugation-wise) form the adjective 有難い (arigatai), which is close to "thankful." Sometimes you will see other adjectives in Japanese take this form where the "ou" sound replaces an "i" sound at the end, but like I said, it's a rare conjugation. Basically you see the polite "ou" in phrases used time out of mind, such as お早う (ohayou, a morning greeting from the adjective for early).
Finally, we have gozaimasu for the last part of the expression. Gozaimasu is a politely conjugated form of a humble and archaic verb, gozaru (meaning "is"). You can hear gozaru used sometimes in samurai movies, but it is always gozaimasu nowadays. Often, it follows those adjectives that have gotten the "ou" treatment, like arigatou. You may have guessed how to say a polite "good morning": ohayou gozaimasu.
Anyways, the point is that we often overdo the politeness when we first come to this country. Saying "doumo arigatou gozaimasu!" To the poor waiter that just gave you a glass of water is a bit much when a simple "doumo" will do. Of course your personality may be less casual than mine.
Sorry if I left you wanting more, but that is quite enough analysis for one post. So please tune in next time for other expressions in the same vein.
Thanks for reading! Domou!
Continued in Part 2 here.
Post a comment