簡潔な説明 – Simple Tips for Explaining things in Japanese

When explaining things in Japanese it is easy to get lost. When you try to explain yourself in any foreign language it is easy to get confused. Japanese has a different word order and many other differences from English. It is one thing to just say a few statements here and there in Japanese. It is another to string those sentences together is a coherent description of an experience you had in the past or to tell a story. Luckily if you know the basics of Japanese they don’t change just because you are using more words. Here are a few tips though to make it easier when you are trying to explain concepts or have a long conversation with someone where you need to do a lot of talking.

Know what you want to say

This sounds obvious but it is not. After becoming confident in your Japanese speaking ability it is easy to forget this.  You may be excited to tell someone something or in a hurry and not quite know what you are trying to say. I do this all of the time. Luckily though with a blog, you can go back and edit. This is not the case when you speak. You need to get it right on the first try. If you do make a mistake then you can say something like 「そうじゃなくて」、「違う」etc. shake your head and say it again.

https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/

State your Conclusion in the Beginning

So how do you know what you want to say? Think about what the conclusion is and state it at the beginning of your conversation. Japanese puts the verb at the end of a statement so it is easy to add too many words before you get to the verb. Even if you think the conclusion is incomplete, that is ok. You can explain it in more detail afterward. It will make much more sense having a conclusion to build on then adding endless detail with nothing to stick to.

Don’t make your Sentences too long

Keep your sentences short enough to give yourself time to breathe. This does a few things, it breaks your explanation up into smaller, understandable units for the listener and lets you breathe.  Worse than leaving your conclusion to the end is running out of the air to say it loud enough to hear. Also, too many words will mentally drain whoever you are speaking to making it harder to listen. Certain phrases would be better broken up. So for example,

「太郎はアイスコーヒーをテーブルの上に、次郎はコーヒーを机の横に、花子はカプチーノを冷蔵庫の中に置いた」This sentence may be ok when you are reading it but would be better broken up like below;

「太郎はアイスコーヒーをテーブルの上に置き、次郎はコーヒーを机の横に置いた。そして、花子はカプチーノを冷蔵庫の中に置いた」This sentence may not be as efficient but is easier to listen to than the first.

Don’t leave out the Subject or ‘I’

When learning Japanese we first learn that you don’t say 「私」everything you talk about yourself. People still understand without saying who did what a lot of the time. Not always though, in fact when you about more complex situations it becomes more important to say who did what. If you are unsure if the listener will understand or not who you are referring to, assume they won’t and make it clear. Part of this confusion may come from the difference between 「は」and 「が」which often overlap in many situations. The topic in a conversation is marked with 「は」and when it is obvious from the context it is often left out. This is different from leaving out the subject of a specific verb marked with 「が」. For more information on the difference, I wrote a different post here. Understanding the difference between these two particles will make it easier to understand what you want to say.

Aizuchi and other Feedback

Japanese has a concept called, “Aizuchi“(相槌). This is where the listener will nod, or say 「はい」、「そうですね」、etc. to show they are listening and understanding what you are saying. Watch the other person and if they stop giving you feedback that they understand what you are talking about, ask if there is something you could explain again. You could put in little interjections if you are unsure, say, 「わかりますか」. In the end, the goal is to inform and enrich your listener with some new information. Take it slow, keep it simple, make sure the other person understands and is interested in what you need to say.

Vocabulary

アイスコーヒー (aisukouhii) – Ice Coffee
テーブル (teeburu) – table
上 (ue) – above, up, top
コーヒー (kouhii) – coffee
机 (tsukue) – desk
横 (yoko) – side, next to
カプチーノ (kapuchiino) – cappucino
冷蔵庫 (reizouko) – refridgerator
中 (naka) – middle, inside
置く (oku) – to put, place
私 (watashi, watakushi) – I
相槌 (aizuchi) – comment during conversation to show understanding