This used to be common in the past, but not so much today due to AI translation (even then, some still run into these issues as they have zero knowledge of Japanese). NEVER use Google Translate, like at all! Even for travel. I studied Japanese for a while and know that it’s a piece of shit.
I went like 6 or 7 years ago. Basically no knowledge of Japanese. I used Google translate quite a bit. And yeah it was hit or miss, but generally worked well enough. Is there a better translater?
Besides that, you’ll encounter English a fair bit. Store names, brand names, signage, menus. Not the norn, but not uncommon. And plenty of information out there in English of how to get around.
Relative to other countries where both the spoken language and writing are foreign to me, my subjective opinion I found it easier. Not easy, easier.
Edit: oh and similarly not uncommon to encounter people who speak at least a little English.
I thought I was having a stroke cause I couldn’t read anything in the picture, but no, it’s just slop.
With SpongeBob on it.
え、しょうがないね。
Bro couldn’t find an actual picture of Japan
Like, you can kinda tell that the store on the right is getting ready to be a Donki, but the universe is malformed.
title of my manga.
最悪の人工知能を持つ別の世界に送られて、神に訴えるために自殺した
I was sent to another world with the worst artificial intelligence, so I killed myself to complain to god
Not without subtitle, no.
When I went to Japan a lot of people spoke English. I don’t think we had any trouble. Everyone was very helpful. At one point my granddad and I were looking at a map trying to figure out how far we were from our hotel, and a guy came up and asked us in English if we needed help, and when we told him where we were staying he walked with us like 2.5km to make sure we got there! (This was in ye olde days before smartphones, so we were using paper maps.)
Beer is beeru, hotel is hoteru, taxi is taxi. The only real difficulty I encountered is when the waitress asks you what she should write on your omurice and you can’t think of any animal names.
Beer is beeru, hotel is hoteru, taxi is taxi.
Next time, write that in katakana: ビール、ホテル、タクシー. Anyway, it depends: but the most popular ones I know of are 熊 (くま) or 兎 (うさぎ) regarding the shape of Omurice (オムライス).
Google is pretty shit at Japanese. Using Google translate or lens frequently does nothing useful. Somehow gmaps is like straight ass and only displays names in kanji which is useless for English speakers and even makes it hard to search.
Don’t get me started on Kanji having multiple definitions which takes it out of context using Google as it struggles to grasp nuance. Like how 最高 (さいこう) can mean “ultimate”, “best”, “highest” or “maximum” depending on how its used, this part remains up to the speaker on how its used within present context.
Don’t get me started on Kanji having multiple definitions
what, you don’t know the difference between 神 (kami) and 神 (Kami)? or would you prefer 髪 (kami) over the other two?
神 is God or Paper, 髪 is hair. enunciation is important. KAmi is God, while kaMI is paper/hair.
at least that’s how I’ve learned it.
KAmi is God, while kaMI is paper/hair.
That’s known as 高低 (こうてい) アクセント or Pitch Accent, like with 雨 vs 飴 even though both are pronounced as あめ, the only difference is the pitch of each sound (one is louder while the other is softer).
When I was learning English, it was really hard trying to figure out which ending 的 became. Usually but not always it was -al, sometimes it was -ific.
And now my English is decent and my Japanese is rusty, so yeah, the human brain can only be stretched so far.
I’m headed back to Japan in January, and it’s gonna be so weird hearing 日本語上手, it’s gonna feel like a slap every time.
