[Japanese] Easy ways to say “yes”

[日文]如何更簡單地表示同意?

There is something that a textbook won’t teach you but knowing them would improve your daily conversation and sound more natural.

一些文法的用法,通常不會從教科書學到,但學了後能令你的日文變得更口語化

For example, in a casual conversation, you can repeat the very last part of what your counterpart has said and show you are agreeing with them. Here are the examples:

例如在輕鬆對話當中,你可以重複對方的句尾以示同意。以下有一些例子:

(らしい: ~seem to be / it is said that~) (らしい:很像~ / 聽說~)

A「あのお店は今日休みらしい」
B「らしいね」

(“That shop seems to be closed today.” / “Yeah, seems so.”)
(「聽說那個店今天沒開門。」/「誒,真的呢。」)

(だね: It is~) (だね: 描述事情)

A「今日はもう終わりだね」
B「だね」

(“That’s a wrap for today.” / “Yep”)
(「今天都做完了。」/「對啊」)

(みたい: seem to be / looks like~) (みたい:很像~ / 看似~)

A「あの人はもう帰ったみたい」
B「みたいね」

(“That person has probably left.” / “Yeah, probably”)
(「那個人好像已經回去了」/ 「對呢」)

(っぽい: sounds like / looks like / feels like)(っぽい:有點像~)

A「あの子のしゃべり方は大人っぽいね」
B「っぽいね」

(“The kid speaks like an adult.” / “Totally.”)
(「那孩子說話像個大人一樣呢!」/「真的!」)

Because each of the reply examples has a certain meaning themselves, you can also use them even if the other person’s sentence doesn’t end with the same expression.

而因為以上每個回應都有自己的意思,即使對方的句末沒有同樣用詞,也可因應句子的內容來回應。

A「今日も雨が降りそうだね」
B「らしいね」

(“It looks like today will rain” / “Seems so”)
(「今天好像會下雨呢」/「好像是呢」)

A「あれ?あの店は閉店したの?」
B「みたいだね」

(“Wait, is that shop closed permanently?” / “Seems to be the case.”)
(「誒?那個店都關門了?」/「聽說是呢」)

A「曇っているね。この後雨は降るかな?」
B「っぽいね」

(“It’s pretty cloudy. It’s gonna rain, right?” / “Looks like so.”)
(「天暗暗的。看來要將下雨了」/「對喔」)

Ultimately, you can simply reply 「ね〜」to show affirmation and change your tones from soft to strong with an exclamation mark in tone.

Though, you should note that these grammars have more meanings and ways of translating when they are used in other situations. Such as 「っぽい」also indicates frequency and holds negative meaning, e.g. 「私のお父さんはいつも怒りっぽいです」, which means “my father always gets angry.” Or it can also use in description, e.g. 「このかばんちょっと安っぽいね」, which means “this bag looks cheap.” So it is always good to check the dictionary or textbook for more usages.

有一個更萬用的說法來表示同意,就是說「ね〜」。你亦可以以語調來表示不同程度的同意。

要留意的是,這些文法本身在其他場合都有不同意思和翻譯方式。例如「っぽい」亦有指出傾向和帶點負面的意思,如 「あの先生はいつも怒りっぽいです」的意思指「那個老師常常生氣。」或可用作描述眼前物件,如「このかばんちょっと安っぽいね」的意思指「這個袋子看來有點俗套。」可以翻查字典或教科書,理解其他的用法。

またね👋

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