I already know that it's "iie". Or, that's what everyone's taught. However, I heard from a friend that "iie" is kind of a rude/informal way of saying no and gives native Japanese speakers that weird feeling English speakers get if someone says "nah" when the situation calls for a "no thank you". Is this true? Is there a more polite way to say "no"?
Thanks!
amadanmath
Favorite Answer
"Iie" is actually one of the politer ways to say "no". It's not that the word itself is not polite, rather, the Japanese do not like to say "no" at all. They would prefer for the refusal to be implied, expressed less directly, or hidden by avoiding the straightforward answer, and this bit of cultural miscommunication was one of the more important factors in many business deal failures between them and the West.
This gives rise to one of the most useful words in the Japanese language: "chotto". It means "a little", but if you say it in the right context, especially with just the right bit of regret on your face, it conveys the negative meaning, with the connotation that it is "a little" inconvenient for you, or that you dislike the proposition "a bit", or maybe that you could be persuaded to do it for "a moment" but you'd rather do something else. This ensures that the other person does not lose face having suggested something that you flat-out refused to do. So, practice with me:
Do you want to go for a drink?
Nanika nomimasen ka?
Hmm... a little [inconvenient]... I told my mom I'd be home soon, but... [I could inconvenience her if you insist]
Uun, chotto... Sugu kaeru to haha ni iimashita ga...
Anonymous
"Iie arigato" is not proper Japanese. When you're turning down something (like an offer for a drink) you can say:
Kekko desu
*or*
Ii desu (literally, it's good, a little more informal).
As someone said above, answering "no" is too direct and impolite, but people are generally pretty understanding and forgiving for non-native speakers. :-)
Katie W
"iie" is a very blunt "NO". Japanese generally feel that it is impolite to refuse or correct someone so bluntly, so milder ways of expressing the same thing are used, instead of a blunt confrontational style of speech. For example, if you asked "Is this right?" about a problem, a "rude" answer would be "No." but a more polite way would be "Well, it's not quiiiite right..."
Ichika
You can use "iie" it us not impolite but cans be considered a bit blunt a implication method would be politer for example
"Kekko desu" or "daijobu desu"
And you can add arigatōu in front of these also, so ...... Arigatōu daijobu desu, meaning thankyou but I'm alright.
dareka~♥
We don't say "no" but we say everything possible to mean "no" without actually saying it.
For example, here is a typical conversation:
A: Would you like to go to the movies with me on the weekend.
B: Oh, well, uh, hmm, let me see... (this could go on for a bit ^-^) I think maybe I might have to work on an essay a bit this weekend but...
(Notice the use of "I think", "maybe", and "might" all together in one sentence?? Yup, that's not unusual to see in any Japanese sentence. When Japanese give speeches we say "I think I want to talk about ___." Also, ending a sentence with "but" is very common to. The listener will understand the rest without you even saying it! ^.^)
Funny thing I read in one of Dave Barry's books "Dave Barry Does Japan" he said that he noted the following:
"To the best of my knowledge, in all the time we traveled around Japan, nobody ever told us we couldn't do anything, although it turned out that there were numerous things we couldn't do. Life became easier for us once we learned to interpret certain key phrases, which I'll summarize in this convenient table:
English Statement Made by Japanese Person = Actual Meaning in American
I see. = No.
Ah. = No.
Ah-hah. = No.
Yes. = No.
That is difficult. = That is completely impossible.
That is very interesting. = That is the stupidest thing I ever heard.
We still study your proposal. = We will feed you proposal to a goat.