Language and Japan
Five English Words with Surprisingly Different Meanings in Japan
Avoid getting lost in translation.
In a previous essay, I explored the question of Why Japan Fails at English.
I’m not here to criticize the poor English skills of Japanese people, but to highlight one potential area for “lost in translation” to play out.
The poor English skills of most Japanese people are enough to make cross-cultural communication difficult. It gets even more complicated when one considers the many Japanese English words with completely different meanings which are used in Japan. The Japanese have a tendency to borrow words and give them a completely new meaning.
In this article, I introduce five of these words to spark your interest and curiosity and explain why it matters — if you want to avoid getting lost in translation.
#1 — Service
In English, “service” typically refers to being of help to someone, as in the service industry. We say “good service” if a restaurant or its staff are attentive to the needs of its customers. Or, sometimes, we say that leadership is about service and raising people up.
