When a Foreigner Speaks Japanese in Japan  

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

His Japanese is 100% understandable😅

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

That's why listening is so important.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 🙃

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

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

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. 😊

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😔

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 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.

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

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.

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

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 😭

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.

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

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

Such a beautiful language

This has happened to me but on the phone. Called my Japanese friend from the US and I was only saying who I was to her husband who had answered, nothing complicated, and he just could not understand. Oh my! I had no idea what I was doing or saying wrong. It crushed my already faltering confidence in Japanese.

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!!!

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

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.

Thanks for helping us learn the language...

全く問題なく聞き取れます笑笑 きれいな日本語

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.”

A similar situation happened at the airport when the guy at check-in saw our passports and asked us a question in our native language. Literally none of us could process what he was saying because we expected English. Despite the fact he was talking fluently, he had to repeat himself 3 times for us to finally realize he's speaking in our language, lol

awesome. that’s very encouraging-

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

I remember studying Japanese in America and working at an ice cream shop. A Japanese tourist ordered some ice cream in English with a heavy Japanese accent. I had to ask her to repeat herself three times before I understood. She was saying all the right syllables, but with the emphasis slightly different, my brain couldn’t register what she was saying. “Strawberry ice creams please” It’s interesting how a slight change in emphasis can make a word totally unrecognizable

I'm Japanese. I can understand his Japanese 100%. Very clear pronunciation.

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)

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?

I have been getting along fine with my limited Japanese ability, and for the most part, the Japanese seem to appreciate the effort!

Thanks for the good lessons!

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..?

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.

like when you write "hight" in your caption 😊the subtlety of languages makes them amazing to learn, thx for your great content ❤

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

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。

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、

I went to Epcot in Disney Land where they have a bunch of different cultures up for display, with actual native speakers working in their respective cultural segment. Whilst in the Japan zone, I went to a steakhouse. When I was ordering my food the Japanese waiter (who was most likely in his mid 20’s) asked me “And what would you like to drink.” Btw, this man spoke perfect English, couldn’t even tell he was once a native Japanese person. My response to his question was “Mizu kudasai.” Which means “water please.” He responded by saying “what?” So I repeated. He then seemed confused, so I said I’m asking for water, did I say that right? He then told me I said it perfectly fine, he just didn’t expect me to speak Japanese. He then said he never had anyone he served respond in Japanese before. I believe the reason they can’t understand even when you’re pronunciation and grammar is good, is because they just get thrown off by a foreigner speaking in their tounge.

I went to Japan some months back. There was this small cafe in Shibuya and it was very neat and not crowded at all. I am learning Japanese so I tried to order in Japanese. 店員さんはすごく優しくて、私を励ましてくれました。It was a great experience and I loved how patient he was. So no, its not like everyone is like this. But of course, bad experiences can happen- don't let it discourage you from learning Japanese. It's a beautiful language and the people are really kind too.

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.

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

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

I feel this in my bones. So often I feel like Japanese assume they won't be able to understand me before a conversation begins and then getting it right doesn't even matter. Ofcourse it may also be my intonation...ok its def my intonation. But I still think some of it is that first thing.

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.

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

Oh my God. Not just japan. Same happens here in Honduras. Despite the fact that Garifunas (Black Hondurans) are here, I suppose I still stick out as American and they do the same thing when I speak clear spanish.

I make it a point to try and understand how different non-native English speakers from different cultures speak English. It really helps with these misunderstandings and allows me to adjust how i speak. Last case scenario, Google translate. It doesn't translate everything well. Example: idioms like "hitting on you". But it does help a lot.

"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.

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.

They always try to help you even when you do not speak the language

I'm Japanese and I fully understood what he said.

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 😒

I’m Japanese and I can understand it

I had this problem in Thailand. I asked a seller a product he was selling, he did not understand. I later told my girlfriend about it. She replied me the fact he was selling these products was the reason why, as if he was able to understand me he would have a better job. I was pretty shocked how chill she replied like this...

This really happened to me so many times despite all my peers and teachers saying I have good pronunciation. Feels bad that you can speak the most broken English and a native speaker can still understand what's being said. Shit's vexing

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

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

I actually didn't have this issue at all all the people I spoke to were very nice and helped me out a lot.

Shopping is like this 😂. But the random short conversations with people make up for it imo.

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。。😅

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

Ok this is one reason speaking more than one language is good

Same problem in the ROK in the 1980s. My Korean pronunciation was flawless (on the phone, no one could tell), but in person, on the street, when I wanted to ask an important question, I finally resorted to using Pyongyang (NK) dialect. THAT got their attention!

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

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.

I’m a foreigner living in Japan, this situation is so rare, happened to me probably less than 3 or 4 times in over 20 years. People talk to me in Japanese and they understand what I say even though my accent and my grammar are far from perfect.

They will understand if you perfect your Japanese. It does depend on your high and low notes as well. That is not as hard as it sounds, so don't be discouraged.

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.

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

When a foreigner speaks Spanish in Spain too. 😂😂😂

Lol her reaction and smile got me out 😂😢😅😅😅❤❤❤❤