Learn how to refuse politely an invite
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| Introduction |
| John: Refusing Politely. In this lesson, you'll learn how to refuse invitations politely in Japanese. |
| Body |
| John: Here's the formal way to say "I'm sorry, but..." in Japanese. |
| Risa: [Normal] すみません、ちょっと…。(Sumimasen, chotto...) |
| John: First is a word meaning "excuse me,” or “sorry." |
| Risa: [Normal] すみません [Slow] すみません (sumimasen) |
| John: Last is the word literally meaning "a bit." |
| Risa: [Normal] ちょっと [Slow] ちょっと(chotto) |
| John: In general, saying "no" directly is considered very casual in Japanese culture, so gentler language is preferred. Listen again to the formal phrase meaning "I'm sorry, but..." |
| Risa: [Slow] すみません、ちょっと…。 [Normal] すみません、ちょっと…。 |
| John: Okay, now let's see an alternative way to say "I'm sorry, but..." in a less formal way, though it’s still polite. |
| Risa: [Normal] ごめんなさい、ちょっと…。(Gomen’nasai, chotto...) |
| John: First is a word meaning "excuse me, sorry." |
| Risa: [Normal] ごめんなさい [Slow] ごめんなさい (gomen’nasai ) |
| John: Next is the word meaning "a bit." |
| Risa: [Normal] ちょっと [Slow] ちょっと(chotto) |
| John: Listen again to the formal phrase meaning "I'm sorry, but..." |
| Risa: [Slow] ごめんなさい、ちょっと…。 [Normal] ごめんなさい、ちょっと…。 |
| John: The following is a formal way to say "I'm sorry, but I have plans." |
| Risa: [Normal] すみません、予定があります。(Sumimasen, yotei ga arimasu.) |
| John: First is a word meaning "excuse me, sorry." |
| Risa: [Normal] すみません [Slow] すみません(sumimasen) |
| John: Next is the word meaning "plan." |
| Risa: [Normal] 予定 [Slow] 予定(yotei) |
| John: Next is the subject particle. |
| Risa: [Normal] が [Slow] が(ga) |
| John: Last is the word meaning "as I have, as there is." |
| Risa: [Normal] あります [Slow] あります(arimasu) |
| John: Listen again to the formal phrase meaning "I'm sorry, but I have plans." |
| Risa: [Slow] すみません、予定があります。 [Normal] すみません、予定があります。 |
| John: Finally is an alternative way to say "I'm sorry, but I have plans." in a less formal way, though it’s still polite. |
| Risa: [Normal] ごめんなさい、予定があります。(Gomennasai, yotei ga arimasu.) |
| John: First is a word meaning "I'm sorry." |
| Risa: [Normal] ごめんなさい [Slow] ごめんなさい(gomennasai) |
| John: Next is the word meaning "plan." |
| Risa: [Normal] 予定 [Slow] 予定 (yotei) |
| John: Next is the subject particle. |
| Risa: [Normal] が [Slow] が(ga) |
| John: Last is the word meaning "as I have / as there is." |
| Risa: [Normal] あります [Slow] あります(arimasu) |
| John: Listen again to the phrase meaning "I'm sorry, but I have plans." |
| Risa: [Slow] ごめんなさい、予定があります。 [Normal] ごめんなさい、予定があります。 |
| Cultural Insight |
| John: Now, it's time for a quick cultural insight. |
| Risa: The word chotto means "a little" or "a bit," but it's also often used when refusing in a roundabout way, like "I have a small thing and I'm sorry I have to refuse your invitation." Of course, you can use it even if you don't have any plans. |
Outro |
|---|
| John: And that's all for this lesson. Don't forget to check out the lesson notes, and we'll see you in the next lesson! |
| Risa: またね！(mata ne!) |
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