How to disguise and pretend to be fluent in Japanese

In Japan, it is easy to survive and face everyday situations using few words and basic phrases. This is one of the main reasons why most Brazilians living in Japan do not speak fluent or even intermediate Japanese. With that in mind, we created this article to help you disguise and pretend to be fluent in Japanese.

The purpose of this article is not to deceive anyone, just to disguise your years of study and procrastination that did not teach you to maintain a conversation with people. This happens to many Japanese learners and other language students. They study day and night, learn thousands of words, verbs, and grammatical expressions, but when it comes time to converse, they simply fail.

Reaching fluency in Japanese requires time, a lot of dedication, and immersion with Japanese people to practice your conversation skills. Some are somewhat afraid to talk to Japanese people due to the fear of making mistakes and not speaking correctly. The tips here will help you disguise and pretend to understand what is happening around you.

Others need to quickly learn some words to make speeches or introduce themselves in Japan. Many celebrities learn at least a phrase in the native language to speak to their fans. Things like accent and informal words are important for these and other occasions.

And don’t be fooled just because a Japanese person said nihongo jouzu to you. This expression is commonly heard by anyone who speaks a word in Japanese.

Remember not to try to pretend to speak Japanese without knowing anything about the language; you need at least a basic Japanese course to pretend to be fluent.

Expressions to pretend to understand Japanese

The first step to show that you know Japanese is to learn expressions that serve various occasions. Besides yes and no, you should learn various words to make your Japanese sound more natural and informal. See below some alternatives for confirmation and negation:

• ない – nai – a negation used at the end of verbs;
• 違う – chigau – wrong, different;
• 無理 – muri – impossible;
• だめ – dame – not good;
• 出来ない – dekinai – I can’t;
• ん – un – equivalent to yes, you are agreeing;
• そう – sou – a confirmation, that’s right (used with desu);
• ええ… – ee… – being a confirmation will depend on the tone, it’s like our eee;
• ちょっと – chotto – wait, a little, a minute;
• 大丈夫 – daijoubu – it’s okay, don’t worry;

It is worth remembering that Japanese people avoid denying things to someone as much as possible. They always use excuses or some alternatives to avoid saying no. If you need to deny or reject something, try to postpone it to tomorrow, say sumimasen and make up an excuse.

If you feel isolated or need to say something – あの – Ano can be used like an “ei,” to get the person’s attention;

Tips to disguise your Japanese

Avoid using a simple arigatou to thank, you can try using more informal words like a simple domo. During informal conversations, it is also common to swallow particles like wo that come before verbs.

Another tip is to study the endings of Japanese sentences well; try not to stick only to desu and masu. You should learn some regional slang to make your conversation more informal and interesting. Our article on gender language offers various options for informal endings to use in your sentences.

Use anata (you) only if you are speaking to a stranger. You can use omae or kimi depending on your relationship. Sometimes it is unnecessary to use the word anata in every sentence you make to the same person.

• Try to use the names of things instead of saying kore wa (this);
• Learn expressions from the local dialect;

How to have a good accent in the Japanese language

Some have difficulty speaking Japanese because of their Portuguese accent. Fortunately, Brazilians have a much easier time than native English speakers. Most Japanese phonemes are similar to the syllables in Portuguese. Some tips below can help you have a good accent in Japanese:

Although Japanese people do not place emphasis and accents on words like Portuguese, they use a tonal accent, making homophones like hashi (bridge) and hashi (chopsticks) sound a little different. You might want to listen to these words and try to catch the different tones within them.

Remember to pronounce the phonemes correctly to have a good accent. Some have a lot of difficulty with this, but it is a lack of practice and preparation. The video below will help you:

Becoming fluent in the Japanese Language

Of course, if you want to speak Japanese, you must truly learn it! Pretending to speak Japanese will not work in the long or short term. Being fluent is a difficult challenge that takes a lot of time. When pretending to know Japanese, you should keep the following goals in mind:

• Master all the necessary phrases;
• Learn to construct a sentence in Japanese;
• Master basic Japanese grammar;

If you can fulfill the above points, you will succeed in a Japanese conversation. We hope these tips help you to strive and face the shame of speaking Japanese or socializing with Japanese people. So don’t be afraid to make mistakes!

I hope you enjoyed the tips in this article! If you liked it, share it with friends and leave your comments!

• Don’t try to pretend to know Japanese just because you are a weeaboo