Things You "Take" in English and Not in Japanese

Every language has its subtleties. In Japanese, the standard equivalent to the verb "to take" is 取る　(toru). It is used when you pick something, get a hold on something, and so on. However, there are many cases where the verb "to take" should not be translated this way. Here are some of them.

1. Take the Bus, Train, Plane...

This is a very common mistake to make because it is a very tempting one. In English, you "take" the bus, the train, the plane ... In Japanese, however, you do NOT say 電車を取る (densha wo toru). Unless, of course, you are Godzilla and you are grabbing one of the trains in your big hand or you are a kid holding a train toy.

 

In Japanese, you have to use the verb 乗る (noru) and be careful that we use the preposition に (ni) before this verb: 電車に乗る (densha ni noru).

Same for the bus, plane, etc...

2. Take a Shower, Take a Bath

Again, unless you are Godzilla... the verb "toru" won't work here. Use シャワーを浴びる (shawa wo abiru) or お風呂に入る (o furo ni hairu // can be understood as "going in the bath").

While, we are in the bath vocabulary, another common issue is to refer to the water of the bath as 水 (mizu). For example, when you say that there is not enough "water" in this bath, or that the "water" is too warm or too cold. In Japanese, you have to use the word お湯 (o yu // hot water). It won't really make sense to Japanese people otherwise.

3. Take a Medicine

This one is kind of hard. Even today, it doesn't feel very natural for me to say it. In Japanese, we don't "take" a medicine, we "drink" it, even if it isn't a liquid: 薬を飲む (kusuri wo nomu).

So, here is a dangerous confusion. If a Japanese friend tells you この薬取って (kono kusuri totte), it means "bring me this medicine", NOT "take it" (basically, "take it to me").

4. Take an Exam

Another quite common use of the verb "to take" in English is when referring to tests, exams, etc... In Japanese, again , it wouldn't make any sense to use the verb "toru" in this case, and they have the specific verb 受ける (ukeru).

That's it for today! There are other cases where "take" is not translated into "toru" but they are less common (take a nap, take bets, take the bull by the horns...). Remember the four mentioned and you should be fine most of the time :)

Some basic words in Japanese: "no"

A common idea is that Japanese people (and Asian people in general) cannot say "no". This is a misconception even though it is true that they tend to use it less often and in another way compared to "western" people.

If your boss asks you: "could you do this for me?" then, effectively, "no" is not an option. I actually think there is not so many countries/companies where "no" is an option.

If your boss asks you: "was it Spain you went to last year?" and you went to Italy, then you should say "no". It would be stupid to say "yes", just because you think "no" does not exist in Japanese.

1) The theoritical "no"
Let's begin with the dictionary. Most will give you the translation いいえ iie (long i and ends with  e like the first e of Emily) for "no". However, this is not commonly used in situations where you would use "no" in English.

Example:
スペインに行ったことがありますか。
spain ni itta koto ga arimasuka
Have you ever been to Spain?

いいえ、まだ行ったことはありません。
Iie, mada itta koto ha arimasen
No, not yet.

This is polite and theoretically correct. However this is not commonly used by Japanese people. We will see what would be more natural in the next section.

So when do Japanese people use いいえ? I wanted to say never, but I thought about it and there is a situation where Japanese people frequently use it. It is to reply to a "thank you", or a "sorry".

これ、ありがとう。
kore, arigatou
Thank you for this (for example for a gift).

いいえ、いいえ、別に。。。 (often shortened to いえ、いえ)
iie, iie, betsu ni ...
Don't worry, that was nothing.

心配させて、ごめんね。
shinpai sasete, gomenne
I am sorry I made you worry ("about me", for example).

いいえ、いいえ、大丈夫です。 (often shortened to いえ、いえ)
iie, iie, daijoubu desu
No problem.

2) In practice

• 違う、違います chigau, chigaimasu (to make a mistake, be mistaken) is used instead of "no"

For example:
去年、スパインに行きましたね。
kyonen, spain ni ikimashita ne
Last year, you went to Spain, didn't you?

違います、イタリアでした。
chigaimasu, Italia deshita
No, we went to Italy.

あなたが食べれないのはキャベツだったっけ？
anata ga taberenai no ha, cabagge datta kke?
What was it again you did not like (to eat), cabbage?

違う、違う、セロリ
Chigau, chigau, celery
No, no, celery.

• まだ(です)　is often used on its own, without いいえ

To use back the first example:
スペインに行ったことがありますか。
spain ni itta koto ga arimasuka
Have you ever been to Spain?

まだです。
mada desu
Not yet.

3) Informal situation
In informal situation, a double tone mumbling will be used instead of いいえ. It is difficult to write it down as it is simply mumbling. People may write it うんう (hmm hm) but that does not give you a good idea of how to say it. Let's just say if the mumble is mono tonal, short and going down, it is the informal "yes", if it includes two sounds, then it is "no".

4) Nuances and degrees of no
Generally, Japanese people manage to guess the "no" without it being said simply by the way the other person reacts. A person who would act a bit passive, for example, could be showing his/her disappointment. Imagine that you are going with your Japanese girlfriend to Europe and plane tickets to Paris are too expensive. If you ask her "is it fine not to go to Paris?" or "can't we go to Paris another time" and she does not answer with a clear "yes", then this means "no". Only western guys would need a clear "no" in this situation to understand it is "no" (this may be more a guy/girl thing than a Japanese/western thing).


Otherwise, there are some degrees of yes and no.
I have listed some possible answers to "could you do this for me" kind of question, with the closest English meaning in practical:
- もちろん/mochiron/sure: this is a positive yes
- するよ/suru yo/I will do it (or other verbs depending on what you are asking for) : again, a positive yes

- OK: yes, but depending of the intonation it can be "no problem" or "I'll do it but that's really because of you"
- 頑張ります/ganbarimasu/I will try: this is the kind of "no, but as 'no' is not an option, this is the closest-to-true option I have". You should probably explain more why you need it, or ask if there is any problems with what you are asking for (there is, but you should not ask what they are, simply ask if there are some).
- ちょっと難しいかな/chotto muzukashii kana/It may be difficult: this generally means no.

- 無理だよ/muri da yo/It is impossible: no
- だめ/dame/never: no way
- いやです/iya desu/no: not even in your dreams (what on earth were you asking for?)


Conclusion
That was it for 'no'. I hope you understand better how to say 'no' in Japanese, or more specifically how to identify them when Japanese people say it.

Some basic words in Japanese: "yes"

One of the problem with the Japanese language is that the difficulty is not always where you expect it. For example, there is 0 spelling problems in Japanese. There is only one way to write words and they will never wonder if you need 1 or 2 'm', 1 or 2 'p'. How many times have I seen people write "there" instead of "their" or "would of" instead of "would have". This would not happen in Japanese. On the other hand, some basic words may be problematic. Today, I would like to talk about "yes".

How to say "yes" in Japanese? If you look in a dictionary, you will find the "translation" はい (hai). This is a good translation but there are some small details I would like to discuss.

In the English "Yes, I do", we use "do" no matter the verb of the question (except for some verbs like can, shall, would, ...). In Japanese, they simply repeat the verb of the question.
For example:
Do you play tennis?                         Yes, I do
テニスをしますか。                             はい、します。
tenis wo shimasu ka                         hai, shimasu

If the Japanese verb is です (desu), you need to add そう in the answer

For example:
Is this your cat?　　　　　　　　　　　　　  Yes, it is.
あなたの猫ですか。                           はい、そうです。
anata no neko desu ka                    hai, sou desu

In Japanese, people also use はい, more often than in English, to simply acknowledge what their interlocutor says, kind of showing their are listening and want their interlocutor to continue speaking. It is difficult to describe with words but if you listen to Japanese people, you will notice it.
For example:
If you try to say you have a problem with your internet and say this:
- インターネットのもんだいがあります。
inta-netto no mondai ga arimasu　
Your interlocutor may simply reply:
- はい
hai
Basically, you are saying you have a problem with your internet and the other person is replying "yes". It does not mean "yes, you have a problem", but more inviting you to continue (describe more the problem, tell what you expect, ...). If you wanted your interlocutor to take action directly, you should actually have said:
- インターネットのもんだいがありますが
inta-netto no mondai ga arimasu ga

More on this, here.


There is also うん (un), more familiar, which in practice is just a mumble. Again, it is possible to repeat the verb of the question.

Did you see this movie?                    Yes, I did
この映画を見た？　　　　　　　　　　　  　　うん、見た。
kono eiga wo mita　　　　　　　　　　　　   un, mita　　　　

It is possible, and quite common to omit うん. In the previous example, we could say 見たよ (mita yo) or 見た、見た (mita mita).

To conclude, let's just say that はい in formal situation is a good translation of yes. Simply, in Japanese, it is more common to follow it with the verb of the question. In informal situations, yes is translated into うん but may be eluded and the answer will only be the verb of the question in the affirmative form.