Tweet of the Week #58: How To Make Japanese People Mad With One Hiragana

Did Japanese Buddhist monks bring Zazen meditationto the world? Yes. Is Japan famed for its sleek minimalism and peaceful culture? Yes.

Do Japanese people ever get mad? Hell to the yeah they do!

As you probably know, Japanese culture values harmony and group well-being over individual feelings. So Japanese people grow up probably a *little* more skilled than us at bottling up frustrations and anger in order to keep the superficial peace.

That said, Japanese people are human beings and, like the rest of the world, they have times when they lose their absolute sh*t too. Just take a peek at this TV show panelist(rightfully) losing his temper on live television after witnessing an offensive segment about gender.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeee

This Japanese father and blogger tweeted about his family oogiri(), a game where you have to give the wittiest comeback as fast as possible to a certain question or topic.

The theme was all about who could make the most annoying, rude-sounding exclamations (e.g. “ah”, “wut?” or “wow!) using only one hiragana.

But exclamations are harmless, you say. Yeah, any English teachersout there will understand the pain of asking students a question and being met with a chorus of “えっ”or “あれ”or “マジで!”

Likewise, if you’ve ever had the unfortunate chance to witness a Japanese variety television show, you’ll know that by the fourth Eeeeeeeeeeeeee-reaction from the audience over a zoomed-in bowl of noodles just how annoying exclamations can be.

は？

ひらがな１をして、をさせろ！って大喜利をでやったんだけど。

の「は？」

の「あ？」をえて

の「で？」がぶっちぎりでした。

りすことによって激怒ポイントをめられるところが。

= All three of us played an oogirigame, the “Piss off your opponent with one hiragana championship!”

My daughter: “PARDON?” (は)

I kept her in check with “OY!” (あ)

My son broke away and won the championship with “SO WHAT?” (で)

Repeating over and over again will win you top rage points.

If は, あ, and でcan sound extremely annoying to Japanese people’s ears, one sound that REALLY takes the cake is the ちAKA “tongue clicking” sound.

Considered extremely rude (it’s the equivalent to showing your middle finger in the West), clicking your tongue in Japan expresses utmost irritation, annoyance, and disgust.

Japanese emotional exclamations

On paper exclamations kind of lose their flavor and these translations won’t grasp the full meaning. But think of this list as a useful guideline when you’re watching your favorite series on Netflix Japan. Practice them and you’ll quickly sound more like a native.

Vocabulary

大喜利	oogiri	improvised answer game
ひらがな	hiragana	hiragana
文字	moji	character
発音する	hatsuon suru	pronounce
相手	aite	opponent
激怒する	gekido suru	be enraged
選手権	senshuken	championship
3人	san nin	us three, the three of us, three people
やる	yaru	do
娘	musume	daughter
私	watashi	I, me
抑える	osaeru	keep the enemy in check, have under control
息子	musuko	son
ぶっちぎりで	bucchigiri de	overwhelmingly
優勝する	yushyou suru	win
繰り返す	kurikaesu	repeat, do over again
によって	ni yotte	by
激怒ポイント	gekido pointo	“rage point”
貯める	tameru	accumulate, save
高評価	kouhyouka	high rating, top points
舌打ち	shitauchi	clicking tongue noise

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