When a Foreigner Speaks Japanese in Japan #Shorts 

15 yrs in Japan. It's not usually being rude. They see the foreigner, their brain desperately starts digging up half-remembered highschool English lessons but nothing you say sounds like the English they know. By the time they realize you're _not_ speaking English the situation has already escalated.

If I was studying Japanese, this vid would discourage me from trying to speak

For those who didn't get it : Some Japanese deliberately do not understand foreigners who speak fluent Japanese because they do not look like Asian-

Start by saying the magic intro word. "Hai eeetto/はいええっと" then say the name of the product. Always works like magic. I do it all the time. So in this case. Hai, eeetto, chiizu keiki onegai shimasu, would work perfectly. Eeetto is the word to switch Japanese people from English to a Japanese mode. You are welcome.

I'm Japanese but I could understand his Japanese very well. I honestly can't tell much difference between two people😅 So don't worry! Japanese people, at least those around me, are happy when they see people from other countries studying Japanese! Sorry if this is not the main point of this video. I'm still learning English, so I hope you can understand a little bit.

In my experience, they try to do this, but I immediately tell them I know what they're doing and that it's embarrassing for them, and they suddenly understand me perfectly

“They won’t understand you” you mean they intentionally don’t understand you/pretend not to lmao

I am Japanese, but if the man in this video speaks Japanese as well as he does, I can understand him without any difficulty.

I’m Japanese and I perfectly understand what the guy were saying; his Japanese is pretty good!

Thats the equivalent to when Americans tell you "wow your English is so good" although you've been living there since you were born 💀

Say something rude and they'll understand you perfectly fine.

This is common in Japan. The locals do not expect you to be speaking their language. So they are trying to process what you are saying as English. Japanese is full of English loan words, so it's an easy mistake. On a side note, this can also happen in reverse. There may be the rare Japanese person who is confident enough to try to speak to you in their heavily accented Japanglish, and you might not immediately recognize that they are speaking in English.

For some natives, it’s probably more of an intonation thing. But y’all can’t deny some natives def are racist as heck for like no reason. I wish we could all just vibe together.

"I have no idea what language he's speaking, but whatever he said sounded exactly like ordering cheesecake in Japanese!"

I’m Japanese. Still understandable. I think salesperson is Foreigner too. 😅

His Japanese is 100% understandable😅

What a great way to discourage me from continuing my japanese studies

nah it’s usually on purpose though i went to japan once and they refused to serve us because we weren’t asian 💀

I’d love to travel Japan and learn more about their culture and language but there’s one minor problem.. I’m Black 🧍🏽

If the listener isn't expecting to understand you, doesn't matter how fluently you speak. The phenomenon this video depicts is universal. It's not just a problem for folks trying to speak Japanese.

Living in Korea and get this all the time. I realized my Korean isn’t actually that bad when I noticed I had no trouble being understood on the phone 🙃

Bonus round: when someone is Western and speaks fluent Japanese, is with someone that is Asian that only speaks English. Their heads explode and they don't know what to do. It's pretty funny to watch until you remember how blatantly racist this is. In most other cultures, they will default to whoever they can communicate best with. But in Japan they default to those that look like them the most. Especially outside of Tokyo and Okinawa.

The secret for foreigners: Start your sentence with あのー えーと The staff will switch to Japanese mode and understand your foreign face speaking Japanese.

I can't tell you how helpful this video is. I already suffer from crippling social anxiety and I have a tremendous fear of being misunderstood. Now I know that I will certainly experience panic attacks in Japan. Thanks!

I’m half Chinese and when I go to China sometimes people do this to me too 😭 It’s like they choose to not understand but its just because of the culture there, and for the most part people aren’t like this. But it can be infuriating especially because I have always maintained good pronunciation and have grown up with Chinese culture but people just assume I don’t know anything…would be nice to not cause a scene what feels like everytime I just want to practice my Chinese and speak my moms mother tongue. Edit: I’m a little sad that people are assuming I have an accent or something and that I’m not as educated on Mandarin Chinese as I claimed. I assure you I don’t have an accent, I have been deeply self conscious of my Chinese my whole life and have worked really hard to maintain it to “prove” myself because I have felt excluded in the past because of my appearance. When I ask every relative or friend, they tell me I sound almost if not just like a Mainland Mandarin speaker. Chinese pronunciation has always been super easy to me, which is why as I said originally, for the most part when I go to China everyone understands me perfectly. Just sometimes, it happens that the odd person assumes I don’t speak Chinese and so they listen for English and then get confused. And even when I’m understood, sometimes it’s like “shocking” or whatever because I don’t look Asian enough I guess. I really don’t mean any disrespect to any Chinese mainlanders or other language communities where this happens, it’s not a constant issue, but it does happen more than it should, and pointing that out is in no way trying to generalize each and every speaker, it’s a cultural issue, there is no one individual or group of individuals to blame. Just wanted to share my experience. Those experiences have definitely made me feel bad and still have some effect on me, but they don’t control me and they aren’t representative of China as a whole. Man I miss China, haven’t been there in forever because of travel restrictions.

I’m Japanese but I can understand and he speaks Japanese naturally. She means Japanese have a stereotype about foreigners’ language, maybe.Actually,however, his Japanese is so good, so most Japanese would understood the phrase. Please don’t be disappointed😔

This is the most counterproductive bull. “Oh you want to learn my language in an attempt to make communication easier for the both of us? Great, don’t YOU speaking MY language is too confusing.”

As a South African we have 11 official languages. This causes a multitude of accents. We all have become proficient to understand every single accent.

I'm a foreigner who lives in Japan, and speaks Japanese, this sometimes happens. But, DON'T BE DISCOURAGED OR TAKE IT PERSONALLY. Sometimes it's because they get a bit shocked or nervous, sometimes it's because you have a thick accent, and sometimes it's because the person just sucks. Unfortunately, this situation exists anywhere when using your non-native language. PLEASE CONTINUE TO WORK HARD!!!

As a forienger who used to live in Japan I felt that emotionally.

Isn’t this, like, really rude? I mean if you accent isn’t too strong and you speak fluently, are they choosing to not to listen to you or..?

i feel like i should say this. i’m black. when i went to japan in 2023, i had been learning japanese for maybe a year through duolingo, a little anime, and some curious google searching. stayed in various cities including tokyo, osaka, and nagoya for about a week and a half and everyone i spoke to understood the little japanese i knew and some even said i sounded like a native with my pronunciation. everyone was very polite and extremely helpful. being intentional and focusing on politeness when learning the right things to say and the ways to say them in a foreign land makes it easier for natives to be comfortable speaking be confident in yourself and your ability. 🙂 speaking it aloud is very important.

pov: you went into the comments to find the meaning of this video.

I'd be like "am I speaking another language? Shall I repeat myself in hindu?" In Japanese just so it can be ironic

"Can I have a cheese cake?" **cashier proceeds to be creepy**

I think in the US we have the benefit of hearing lots of accents. Going to college I was taught by people with strong Russian, Chinese, Indian accents and by the end of the year I was able to understand them perfectly.

全く問題なく聞き取れます笑笑 きれいな日本語

Meanwhile, someone attempts speaking French to me and I'm over the moon. No matter if they have an accent or are learning, it's very touching being addressed by a stranger using your mother tongue, especially if you live overseas

"They won't understand you" That's a weird way to say "they're being racist" Edit: these guys arguing the difference between xenophobia and racism is funny. They both mean being prejudice towards other people, it doesn't matter the race or country, if you're acting like this, it isn't okay. As a Mexican, I can assure you, I understand, but you gotta understand that this video, albeit staged shows that you can annunciate and sound out something completely correct, yet the native will only look toward the other Japanese person for the answer. There shouldn't be no context, no other meaning to what he said, it's plain wrong to ignore and disprove someone solely because they come from another country. As for people telling me "oh you're wrong, this is xenophobia, it's different." I just gotta say, naw,, it isn't. Whether it be race or country, you're still showing prejudices against other people. There's no justification for that, go ahead and argue some more, my opinion stands.

I had watched other videos of this kind a few years ago and thought this was true until I went to Japan and actually tried to speak Japanese and saw that most of the people understand or at least make the effort to communicate with you. I could tell that they appreciate it a lot when a foreigner tries to speak their language and they try and help you as much as they can. If you are studying japanese and plan to go to japan, don't let this video scare you! If you really love Japanese culture and language, you'll have a great time! And if you are an english speaker, start studying Japanese by discovering how Japanese pronounce English words, it's very helpful and a good way to start. 😊

This happened to me probably twice while I lived in Japan for three whole years. It’s not like an everyday occurrence don’t worry. I think it would happen more if you were with a Japanese person because the person may assume that Japanese person is there to translate for you so they probably don’t even pay attention to what you sai the first time. That happened to me when I was out with my husband. But they don’t just stare and silently beg for help from him they do honestly try to listen to me the second time.

It's because of having a strong foreign accent? Or why do you think it happens?

私はアメリカに住んでいたこともあり日本に外国人の友達も結構いますが、このような状況になったことは一度もないです。外国人の日本語が理解できなくても、丁寧に聞き直したり確認するだけで、隣にいる日本人であろう私に無言で目線で助けを求めるなんてありえません。そんな失礼な店員がいたらクレームレベルですよ。英語のコメントを見ても日本人は人種差別をするのかと誤解を招いているのになぜ動画を消さないのか理解できません。

ここまで綺麗な日本語を理解できない店員が居たら、単純にその店員に問題があるので気にしなくて大丈夫。というか、こんな店員居るか？？笑笑

私は日本人ですが、男性の"レアチーズケーキ"よくわかりますよ、

happens in the USA when your Japanese spouse speaks perfect English at Walmart and you become the English to English translator because the US cashier only hears the accent and not the English.

もうすぐ８年間日本に住んでいるフランス人ですが、一度もこういう店員さんに会ったことがないです！ うまく伝えなかった時は自分の日本語がポンコツだったからです。。😅

That's why listening is so important.

I work with a lot of Japanese engineers, they get excited every single time they see a non-japanese person try to speak it.

I wanna go to Japan so bad but I’m afraid of this happening 💀

I love that you're being honest and not just painting a fantasy of Japan like nearly everyone else on RU-vid

When I went to Japan, most of the Japanese people could actually understand what I said! I was so glad for that cause I would have been so embarrassed if they couldn’t 😭

I’m Japanese but I sometimes get comments “your Japanese is so good” 😅

I’m Japanese. This skit doesn’t make sense at all… Is the waitress a racist? edit: As other Japanese comments here say, his pronunciation is really good and there’s no chance that the waitress couldn’t understand it. That’s why I was confused. (But I'm sorry “is she a racist” was too much)

i speak fluent spanish as a foreigner and spanish-speakers are delighted when i speak their language. they immediately want to have a conversation about where i’m from. feeling grateful i didn’t study japanese.

it’s not that his japanese is bad, it’s just that she’s not listening for japanese. english is my first language but working in LA, when i had customers who were obviously more comfortable in spanish i would expect to take their order in spanish. sometimes i couldn’t understand what they were saying at first if they ordered in english, not because their accent was too thick for me to understand but because it’s not what i was preparing to hear.

多くの日本人は、日本語が母国語でないのに話せる人は珍しいと思っています。なので、外国語で話しかけられたと思い込み、日本語を話してくれていると気づけない場合がよくあります。

Why is this such a common trope/meme? Western foreigner here. Traveled through Japan for three weeks in 2018, speaking Japanese only - in hotels, conbinis, trains stations, stores, ramen restaurants, clubs, you name it. This didn't happen to me even once.

普通に聞き取れるし分かるけど、この動画の意図って何🤔おんなじような内容の動画上げてる人他にもいた わざと聞こえないふりしてるってこと？それとも外国人に話しかけられるとパニくるってこと？英語で話しかけられたら動画とおんなじ状況になるけど、日本語なら普通に聞き取れるし、片言だったとしても頑張って聞こうとするか聞き返すくね？

How to speak Japanese as a foreigner in Japan: Have a beautiful Japanese woman repeat your statement while pointing. Done!

great. i’m going to japan next june and this made me feel fabulous 😭

HAHHA im weak. I remember i was on a bus with my japanese friend. The elderly japanese lady thought i was japanese, and my japanese friend was a forigner🤣 so she spoke to me the whole time while i looked at my japanese friend for translation🤣🤣 poor guy.

普通に聞き取れるし、どういう意図の動画かよくわからない 変なコメントもついてるし

That’s when you hit ‘em with the “OI OI MAJI FUZAKENNA”

I’m Japanese and feel like his pronunciation is perfect tho!

Hi I'm a Japanese student who's studying in Canada. First, I'm so sorry for people who experienced this kind of thing in Japan. But at the same time, I'm so sad that many people consider this as discrimination, but I just don't want you guys to think in negative way all the time. I'm still learning English, and sometimes people don't understand my English, but I had never thought that's discrimination. And I encourage people who are studying Japanese! I know it's hard, even for me it is, but let's keep making efforts together! I'll do my best to improve my English! Love y'all! 🥰

“When a foreigner speaks the local language in literally any country for the first couple of months”

I’m Japanese and I’m sure I understand what he says instantly!! Please don’t be worry☺️☺️

Dude. This always happened to me when I lived in Korea. It also happens to my friends when they go with me to Mexico and they speak Spanish. Maybe I’m biased since I was an ESL teacher for years, but you can talk to me in the most broken version of a language I know, and I have no difficulties.

For those out there studying Japanese that feel discouraged. I’ve been to japan many times, and for many months. Not once has someone does this with me, but with my friends, yes fully. I don’t think it’s a race thing, but more so a intonation thing, if you’re serious about being understood, study your pitch accents and speak with confidence. 99% of Japanese people are very kind and understand, superficial or not 😊

Such a beautiful language

When I speak Chinese, they also give same reaction because they don't expect you to speak their language. that's why he thinks he speaks English, so he can't fully perceive it. When they continue to talk, they are very surprised after a while because they cannot believe that you can speak that language.

thats when u hit them w the "sorry do u not speak japanese..?" to throw em off. id honestly rather just have them deny me service up front than beat around the bush & pretend we all dont know whats going on lol.

Exactly the same in Taiwan. 😂 They look at you with that blank stare. Then a Taiwanese person says exactly the same thing you said and they are understood perfectly. 😂 My husband said it is because they have a hard time processing a foreigner is speaking the local language and automatically expect they won't be able to understand a foreigner.

This happens to me all the time. I know they are not being rude. I live in a rural area, well away from any additional foreigners and I speak Japanese fluently. But often times, when I speak to a local, they look to my wife for "translation".... even when she says the exact same thing. Other comments are correct... they don't mean to seem rude, it just happens. Gotta roll with it and move on.

This the type of thing to make me say never mind and go to another store smh. I bet if they said never mind she would understand quick 😒

Been here almost 30 years and in all that time this only happened to me like twice...

Lol this happens to me every other day too. Sad when my friends are not around 🙃

Two key words you should learn: な に そ れ nani sore (What’s that?) JUST for when they’re confused or if you’re confused, btw ignore the spaces it’s just so they can match the sounds or smt idk

いや、さすがに分かるやろ。

That happened to me before when I was in Japan but it's the other way around. A Japanese asked me something and I can't comprehend whatever he's saying, then suddenly he asked me "You're a Filipino aren't you?" in japanese. That's when I realized that all along he's speaking in Tagalog! I can't help but laugh whenever I remember that moment. I really find it funny thinking that we finished our conversation with him asking me in tagalog while I'm replying in nihongo.😂

I have never actually had this happen. I've been in japan before, even when my japanese was still highly questionable. Even in small towns they have always been very chill.

In Korea, when a foreigner speaks Korean to them, they are usually too overcome with shock and joy to continue the conversation. You have to give them a moment. Then they tend to want to introduce you to their daughter or neice etc. The look of disappointment on their face when you explain you're already married is kinda funny.

Ok but her reaction to him speaking has me dying

Haha nice and when this happens and they don’t understand me, I’m more persistent instead of letting my wife/friends speak. Confidence is key here!

I work in a theme park (so I see a lot of tourists) and I really like and appreciate it when people take the effort of trying to talk to me in my language. Even if it’s crap, it’s nice that they try. Obviously I always continue the conversation in English because that is much quicker and more practical, but still.

When I lived in Japan, this rarely ever happened to me. They routinely spoke Japanese to me, and I responded in Japanese. No misunderstandings.

I think Even I understood Japanese for “ CHEESE-A CAKEY” lmaOoo 🤣🤣🤣

After my friend went there alone snd after the "horror stories" he told me i would never go there without a native friend by my side all the time.

Even my self as a Japanese have to tell my orders like 2 or 3 times😅

Thanks for helping us learn the language...

その日本の店員は自分のリスニングに自信が無く、日本語が話せそうな人に確認をとったのだと思います。実際に発音が分からず、メニューを聞き間違える事はあると思います。 母親以外がその幼児の話す言葉を理解出来ない事があるように、日本人は日本人以外が話す日本語に慣れていない為、上手く聞き取れない事が多いです。 私の職場にネパール人の方が働き始めた時も、同僚に「どうして聞き取れるの？」と聞かれた事があります。 私は差別では無いと思います。 彼女は自分のミスを恐れています。

Why??? Why does this happen

I think for some people it's because they're not expecting you to speak in Japanese, so they're trying to understand what English words you're using.

I had a Japanese lady tell me today that my pronunciation is perfect and that she could understand me perfectly! It made my day ☺️ (I approached her and asked politely if she happened to speak Japanese)

Bruh he's pointing at the cheese cake and still doesn't know

I WATCHED THIS THREE TIMES TRYING TO SPOT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWO ORDERS 😭😭😭

In my case it wasn’t bc I was a foreigner it was bc of internalised sinophobia at the Asian market 💀. This girl at the counter tried to show off her broken English at me bc she thought I was a ‘freshie’ to the U.K. and from a poorer province and pretended she didn’t know mandarin until I talked back at her in fluent eng 🧍 Girl u picked the wrong person to show off to.

This is similar to how native Spanish speakers are interacted with here in Texas. Because of the large amount of Hispanic people (immigrants and native Texans), many Texans know at least a little Spanish, and because of that, many native Spanish speakers never learn English, so there are often times when this such case occurs- especially in areas where there are larger communities of non-English-speaking folk. Someone will get very prepared to use Spanish and then kind of glitch out when the person uses English. It's even funnier when the person they're speaking to doesn't even know any Spanish 😂. My own sister has had that happen to her just days ago and she's only half Mexican. Everyone always assumes she speaks Spanish, but she actually knows none.

I’m half Japanese and we went out there to visit our family. My cousins are pretty good at playing the piano, and my brother asked them if they knew any Cold Play songs. They don’t speak very good English and were completely confused and then my mom translated it for them and were like “ahhhhh Coldo Playo!” Obviously that’s not the proper Japanese translation but that’s how it sounded and it was hilarious how it sounded just like the English pronunciation of Cold Play but with O’s at the end and they just couldn’t comprehend it.