Is the "politeness" in Japan actually fake? Is it just a show off?

Is the "politeness" in Japan actually fake? Is it just a show off? Ad by Whole Tomato Software Annoying Tabs Are History. Download Visual Assist for Unreal Engine! 111 Answers Profile photo for Daniel McLaury Daniel McLaury , Aspiring Mathematician Answered 6 years ago · Author has 3.3K answers and 12.2M answer views I'll let you in on a little secret: all politeness is "fake." A Chinese friend of mine would routinely ask me if I'd eaten yet, which I generally took to be an invitation to go out for lunch until he eventually caught on to my confusion (3PM is a little late for lunch, right?) and explained to me that where he's from "have you eaten yet?" is a standard, formulaic greeting. In America, we have our own formulaic greetings: "What's up?" or "How's it going?" Foreigners (particularly Germans, in my experience) report immense confusion as to why we'd constantly ask such personal questions. Of course, Americans generally know to respond with the standard formulaic answers: "Not much, you?" or "Fine, yourself?" or something of the kind. Every culture has elaborate rules of etiquette that seem perfectly normal, reasonable and defensible to them, and which seem bizarre and ostentatious to outsiders. When one culture's etiquette rules look, to first approximation, like a less stringent version of your culture's, you tend to perceive them as rude. When they look like a more stringent version, you tend to perceive them as overly polite. When they have rules which are completely orthogonal to your culture's, you'll often see them as "irrational" or "exotic." 418K viewsView upvotesView 3 shares Related questions More answers below What is Japan’s most hated foreign tourist? How should I get over the disappointment of working in Japan? Everything seems fake and unreal. I am unable to gel with the Japanese people and find it hard to see behind their masks. It’s difficult to find people I can trust. Why is Japan so polite? How is anger appropriately expressed in Japan, where there is relatively great cultural emphasis on politeness? Are Japanese people rude? Profile photo for Richard Muller Richard Muller , Author "Now - the Physics of Time" (Norton 2016), Prof Physics UC Berkeley Answered 6 years ago · Upvoted by Marco Giancotti , lives in Japan (2011-present) · Author has 2.3K answers and 193.6M answer views Originally Answered: Are Japanese people polite or fake? Japanese people are extremely friendly, helpful, and polite. That behavior gives typical Americans the misimpression that they are interested in becoming their good friends. That is our mistake, not theirs. Americans have an unusual cultural feature in that we believe in quick intimacy; that is not shared around the world, and certainly not in Japan. When the Japanese are more polite (than, for example, are Americans) we Americans misinterpret that as a desire for intimacy, and when we are disappointed, we think they were being fake. No, it is our mistake, not theirs. The Japanese must think i Promoted by Turing What remote US software engineering jobs are offered by turing.com? How do I get hired as a turing developer? Icon for Remote Software jobs Profile photo for Vijay Krishnan Remote Software jobs Vijay Krishnan Updated Jul 27, 2021 I am Vijay, Co-founder and CTO of Turing.com. Turing partners with a number of U.S. companies in Silicon Valley, Texas, New York, Washington, and Florida. We help fill a large number of full-time remote roles including full-stack, frontend, backend, mobile, UI/UX, DevOps, AI and Data Engin (Continue reading) Profile photo for Jay Liu Jay Liu , works at Thomson Reuters Answered 6 years ago · Author has 1.3K answers and 17.7M answer views Originally Answered: Are Japanese people polite or fake? A half-Korean who spent most of her life in Japan once told me: "Whereas Koreans are rude and genuine, Japanese are polite and fake." Of course, this is a huge generalization of two cultures that aren't really all that different at the end of the day. But she has a point. Japanese definitely prefer the indirect approach, and put up masks in almost all social occasions. They wear these masks so frequently and so perfectly, the mask can actually merge with the real face. At that point, it's hard to say whether the mask is "fake" or not... 100.7K viewsView upvotesView 1 share Profile photo for Masami Takeuchi Masami Takeuchi , I was born in Japan and I am Japanese. Answered 6 years ago · Upvoted by Sheila Asato , studied Culture of Japan & Japanese at Kansai Gaidai University (1979) I am Japanese and when I am trying to be polite, I am faking it and when I am polite, I am not faking it. It is very much cultural as Daniel McLaury has pointed out. However I do not think all politeness is fake. (By the way, to me, the greeting "What's up" or "How's (it) going?" is not in a form of politeness in any cultural context. It is actually quite impolite, for example, in Japan. I think Daniel McLaury is not using this instance to discuss the politeness though.) Please note that not all Japanese are polite, of course. I would say only a half or a little more of Japanese people are (hop Related questions More answers below Do Japanese people like foreigners who try to speak Japanese? What is something that bothers you about Japanese people? What happens if you are really direct with Japanese people in Japan? Is it true that Japanese people are too polite and gentle? Are the Japanese as honest as many people have claimed? Profile photo for Alvin Grissom II Alvin Grissom II , lived in Japan several times, computational linguist Answered 5 years ago · Author has 1.2K answers and 2.5M answer views Originally Answered: Are Japanese people polite or fake? I’m loath to make these kinds of generalizations about Japan. Japan is a country of roughly 125 million people. People in different regions have their own dialects, traditions, and mannerisms. During my first time in Japan, in 2004, I spent four months living with a family while studying abroad at a foreign language school. After everything I’d learned about how polite Japanese people were, I was shocked by how loud, soulful, and open the people around me were. I was living in a small town Kansai, the region around Osaka and Kyoto. The dialect of Japanese there is different — more “country” — a Sponsored by SonarLint Looking to detect C++ issues in Visual Studio or CLion for free? SonarLint offers hundreds of rules to catch bugs, vulnerabilities, and code smells in your C++ codebase. Profile photo for Serina Kurahashi Serina Kurahashi , lives in Japan (2018-present) Updated 5 years ago · Author has 98 answers and 4.4M answer views Here's how I see it: The "politeness" one receives when they are in a superior position may possibly be fake. The "politeness" one receives from someone that in no way benefits from you is most likely genuine. Possibly Fake Politeness I am super indecisive and have this habit that must be really annoying for shop employees. I would browse around for maybe 30 minutes staring and picking up various objects, giving people the impression that I am about to buy out the entire store. Yet at the end I usually decide I don't need anything and walk out without having made a single purchase. In Japan I still get the cheerful "Thank you very much! (Arigatougozaimashita~)" from the employees as I guiltily try to slip out unnoticed. I did the same thing in Seoul. The employee said "What the hell" as I walked out. Those Japanese employees may have very well been thinking the same exact thing the Korean employee verbalized, but they decided to remain polite, even if possibly fake. Possibly Genuine Politeness This is the politeness you see between two strangers that provide absolutely no benefit to one another. For example, in Japan all public transportation such as trains and buses have a priority seating area with a sign encouraging passengers to offer their seat to any elderly person, pregnant woman, person with a young child, or handicapped person. The superficially "polite" thing to do would be to give up your seat when someone that fits this criteria comes along, even if you don't want to. But way too many times I've seen people suddenly pretend to sleep or become extremely interested in their cellphone or newspaper, thus in their minds excluding them of the moral obligation to do so. Which is why when I actually see people offer their seats to others, I'd like to believe they are doing it because they really want to, and not just because it's what is expected of them. Same as when someone holds the door open for me, when someone says "Excuse me" while passing by me, or when someone takes their time to stop and answer when I ask for directions. I can see why Japanese politeness may be perceived as "fake" or "show off-y" at times, especially when store employees carry your shopping bag and accompany you all the way to the exit, when hotel staff keep their heads bowed down towards you until the elevator doors completely close, and when you know for a fact you're being a pain the butt and still they're nicely apologizing to you. But why should that mean it's all fake? Just because you're a customer or have an advantageous position over the other, it doesn't mean that any politeness you receive is automatically "fake" and solely out of pure necessity. The genuineness would really depend on the personality of the individual attending you, the way they were raised, and more importantly, your likability as a person. Politeness given is politeness earned. Especially in a country that places significant importance on respect, manners, and customs ever since a very young age. So no, Japanese "politeness" is not fake; at least not all. It is the result of traditional moral values that have withstood the test of time. 21.1K viewsView upvotes Profile photo for Elias Welf Elias Welf , knows German Answered 1 year ago It is their tradition and standard. In this meaning yes, they HAVE TO be polite, they have to show it, otherwise they would lose “face” in front of others, what they really don’t want so they are pressured to do this in most cases in their society. Many foreigners are blinded by their politness, thinking oh they are so cute and polite all the time, they have heart of gold probably. Well, it is not exactly true. Yes stereotypes are always bad, I know there are good and bad people everywhere, however in Japan it is a standard, which means even if they don’t feel so, they still will act polite, or Profile photo for Bill Fish Bill Fish , lived in Japan Answered 6 years ago Originally Answered: Are Japanese people polite or fake? Fake? That's what politeness is, being nice to other people even when you don't want to. At its heart, then, politeness is fake. I am guessing the person who asked this question is American, as I have never heard Europeans or others complain about politeness being fake. There is common theme in America that one must be honest and sincere in all things. I'm not sure if that actually makes people more honest, but it certainly can make them more abrasive. If I go to a restaurant, for example, I don't really care whether the owner/chef/food-server likes me or not. But I get very annoyed when they ar Profile photo for Elliot Grinstead Elliot Grinstead , alleged human Answered 6 years ago It is at once totally genuine and complelely fake. How is this possible? It is genuine, in that it is a sincere expression of cultural and individual values. It is fake, in the sense that a person's politeness towards you may have no bearing on their actual feelings towards you. All manners are in a sense hypocritical, but for good reason. Moving parts in rubbing contact need lubrication, or they'll break. Codified social behaviour - "manners" and "politeness" - is engine oil for social machines that don't work too well at the best of times. Refusing to use it in the name of "not lying" will w Profile photo for Mark Mays Mark Mays , writer on Japanese film and music. 2 half Japanese kids. Hadano, fools! Answered 6 years ago · Author has 126 answers and 173.1K answer views Originally Answered: Are Japanese people polite or fake? I explained it to some one this way; we see "thank you" as a courtesy, but there should be some genuineness behind the sentiment. For Japanese, the two are inseperable. Not saying "thank you" is the insult, whether it is fake or not. The gesture is most important. The actions are most important. There is no "fake vs real." So if I have to answer literally, the answer is Japanese people are "polite" from the American POV, taking a stereotypical Southerner's level of hospitality and combining it with stereotypical German precision in executing that hospitality. When you think about it, being poli Profile photo for Ryan Shaffer Ryan Shaffer , Took two college classes; studied otherwise for much longer Updated 1 year ago · Author has 2.5K answers and 1.7M answer views Agreeing with and building upon Daniel McLaury's answer: There are two classifications of expressed 'niceness' in Japan: hon'ne 「本音」 and tatemae 「建前」. While Americans have a similar concept to tatemae of reluctantly saying or doing something polite, Confucian ideals of interdependence and preserving social harmony place a sense of greater importance upon tatemae than upon honesty in Japan. I remember a professional group of Japanese musicians giving our collegiate performance club a workshop once; we invited them afterwards to get ice cream with us. Though they eventually declined, explaining t Profile photo for Peter Kåre Skak Pedersen Peter Kåre Skak Pedersen , lives in China Answered 6 years ago · Author has 74 answers and 262.9K answer views I am 100% with Marco Scolari and for Daniel McLaury's comments, I would like to remind that politeness is most likely a two-way message: On one side, I show respect to another person. On the other side, I show that same person that I have good manners. If anybody feel "fake" while exposing their own good manners, then please stop doing that. Daniel McLaury said: "all politeness is "fake" " I'm not going to downwote Daniel McLaury's answer, despite my disagreement on his opinion, but I will urge him to re-think this opinion about "fake". During this life I've been around aprox. 30 countries. I've bo Profile photo for Tim Romero Tim Romero , founded four companies and helped several other enter the market in 20+ years living in Japan. Updated 5 years ago · Author has 60 answers and 918.3K answer views Originally Answered: Are Japanese people polite or fake? Politeness is a set of protocols to be followed in a given situation. It is, by definition, artificial and fake. Politeness can become a habit, but it is never an honest and emotion reaction. If you see one country’s politeness protocol as being fake, but your own as being sincere. It most likely stems from a lack of understanding of those protocols rather than a moral failing of the people being polite. 9.6K viewsView upvotes Profile photo for Chuck Reindle Chuck Reindle , lives in Japan (1978-present) Updated 2 years ago · Author has 327 answers and 279.3K answer views Originally Answered: Are Japanese people polite or fake? Fake goes hand in hand with being polite. Japan is probably the most polite culture on this planet. Along the same lines, outsiders will see it as fakeness. Pick your side. I choose polite culture. 15 August 2018 update: 10 August 2019 update: I wrote a new answer which differs from the above. Chuck Reindle's answer to Is Japanese culture politeness just for show? 1.9K viewsView upvotes Profile photo for Matt Hammond Matt Hammond , Owner Answered 4 years ago · Author has 112 answers and 306.7K answer views Originally Answered: Are Japanese people polite or fake? It might be helpful to understand two important concepts about Japanese behavior here: Homme and tatemae. (from Wikipedia) Honne and tatemae are Japanese [ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_language ] words that describe the contrast between a person's true feelings [ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feeling ] and desires (本音 [ https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%9C%AC%E9%9F%B3 ] hon'ne, "true sound") and the behavior and opinions one displays in public (建前 [ https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki... Upgrade to Quora+ to access this answer Access millions more answers like this Browse ad‑free Support the writers you like to hear from 12.5K viewsView upvotes Profile photo for Martin Basinger Martin Basinger , lives in Japan Answered 5 years ago · Author has 379 answers and 2.3M answer views Originally Answered: Are Japanese people polite or fake? In Japanese culture, the gesture is all that counts, not the intention or feeling. As long as the gestures are there, nobody will wonder “how they are meant”. To look beyond the appearance, or beyond the surface, to want to know the “real meaning”, or to even put the question if something might be not what it seems, is completely alien to the Japanese, it simply does not enter their minds. Fake and sincere politeness are exactly the same to them. 5.3K viewsView upvotes Profile photo for Lewis Nakao Lewis Nakao , American-born, Japanese-American, lived in Japan for a few years. Answered 6 years ago · Author has 2.2K answers and 6.7M answer views Daniel McLaury gives a great answer explaining that all politeness is fake and I totally agree. I just wanted to point out that the Japanese understanding of politeness is different from, say American. For the record, I am an American-born Japanese-American and lived in Japan for a few years. Politeness = subtleness + lack of emotion. Japanese, as a cultural norm, do not express their emotions openly because they want to remain polite. They hold it in, even if it is a positive emotion they must maintain a calm composure because they admire more subtle gestures. For example, giving a girl a b Profile photo for Geoffrey Widdison Geoffrey Widdison , lived in Japan Answered 6 years ago · Author has 12.1K answers and 90.5M answer views I assume that by "fake" you're asking whether it actually signifies what you expect it to. Therein lies the problem. You may have a set of cultural expectations that are not being met, but that doesn't mean the other culture is at fault, the two of you just see the world differently. If a culture encourages it's members to be polite everyone, including strangers and people you don't particularly like, is that politeness fake? No, it's just what's expected. In that culture, someone being polite doesn't mean that they know you, respect you or even like you, it just means that they're treating Profile photo for Yuki-Jennifer Aleksandra Asuka Kurumi Yuki-Jennifer Aleksandra Asuka Kurumi , works at Shimizu Corporation Answered 4 years ago · Author has 423 answers and 1.1M answer views Originally Answered: Are Japanese people polite or fake? Yes,the Japanese SEEM to be Very polite,and friendly,but there's a CLEAR “Catch”!: the Japanese’ “"Friendliness/Politeness” are ONLY apparent Attributes of the culture,for a Certain group of People. It is NOT Universal: You're merely in Luck,IF You are: white-Caucasian (and from a First-world country). an English-speaker male,preferably,”good-looking”/handsome ** ( ** EXTRA BONUS Points,IF You happen to resemble a Hollywood Actor!) (^O^)／ thus,I Personally think the Japanese are Extremely fake. 6.8K viewsView upvotes Profile photo for Catalina Romez Catalina Romez , Japanese-American Updated 4 years ago · Author has 440 answers and 689.6K answer views Originally Answered: Are Japanese people polite or fake? A part of me wants to answer this question to call out all the horrible Japanese people who I've met who do have a very different face underneath their mask. There are ugly sides to Japan that people don't talk much about. At the same time I don't want to throw a whole nation of people under the bus simply because of these types of people. I also don't want to make it sound as if everyone who is polite is fake, because there are some people who are genuine. I guess to say it simply, its not so black and white as polite vs. fake. But I'm going to focus my question on the idea of fake politeness. I Profile photo for Peter Spering Peter Spering , Risk Analyst Answered 3 years ago · Author has 5.1K answers and 64.1M answer views I want to avoid generalizations and stereotypes (two things which seldom prove reliable), but there is largely a sense of contrived politeness in Japan. To quote Claire Jordan, “nice is a social strategy” and this is especially true of Japan. The culture often demands that you adopt a polite front to the point where it oftens feels hollow. I’ve observed that some Japanese people often dodge and skate around questions when asked for their opinion on many things, simply to avoid being controversial or upsetting anyone. It extends to this concept of “meiwaku” (annoyance) too, where you do everythi Profile photo for Fernando Fernando , I come from Argentina. We are loud but get offended if not saluted politely. Answered 5 years ago · Author has 653 answers and 3M answer views Originally Answered: Are Japanese people polite or fake? Once I was walking alone in a hot summer day among the ruins of Ayutaya in Thailand. The distances were huge between temples and I was walking slowly because of the heat. I met a group of Japanese boys and girls. They offered me a ride on the back of a bicycle standing on the wheel axis pedals. We went to a couple of places together and then they invited me to have lunch with them. We had a great time. The girl would serve me beer of the bottle and the guys would listen to me talk. They were quie... Upgrade to Quora+ to access this answer Access millions more answers like this Browse ad‑free Support the writers you like to hear from 5.7K viewsView upvotes Profile photo for Marco Scolari Marco Scolari , Insurance Agent (2018-present) Answered 6 years ago · Author has 63 answers and 613.3K answer views Saying all politeness is "fake" is a ridiculously presumptuous statement and rather silly, to be honest. It might be construed as fake to you because you respond to people that way. Most normal, genuine human beings are polite to make people feel comfortable. That's pretty much it. I can't begin to understand how anyone would upvote this. I really can't. 2.2K viewsView upvotes Profile photo for Anonymous Anonymous Answered 6 years ago Originally Answered: Are Japanese people polite or fake? I feel like the Japanese are not as polite as they are made out to be. As an east asian foreigner who is often thought to be Japanese due to my looks, I've had my fair share of being pushed out of the way by salarymen and elderly women and had people click their tongues at me when I first came to Japan for both speaking in English and also for trying to speak admittedly bad Japanese. I've seen people not giving a damn about pregnant women standing in trains and if I had a seat, I'd be the only one to give it up for the ladies who were very grateful for it. The only people who were "polite" wer Profile photo for Tony Smyth Tony Smyth , Author: Fukushima and the Coming Tokyo Earthquake (2011-present) Updated 3 years ago · Author has 3K answers and 2.2M answer views Originally Answered: Are Japanese people polite or fake? A bit of both. On the one hand Japan is a very group-oriented country so the feelings of others comes before your own. This groupism is taught from a very early age, and of course surrounds a child as they grow up. Language too emphasises hierarchy, the group first, and also who gave and received (there are specific verb combinations that indicate this) . Then, on top of that, Japan is a very ritualistic country - standard little formulas trotted out day by day: the news on TV is read this way, business cards are handled that way, women speak to customers in a voice pitched an octave higher (co Profile photo for Jun Emma Jun Emma , I live there and have for over ten years. Family is Japanese Answered 4 years ago Originally Answered: Are Japanese people polite or fake? That kind of depends on how you personally define it as Japanese people have a different sense of manners than others. Japanese people commit acts of politeness mostly out of a sense of duty. Look at the extremes of the society. The young are allowed to misbehave because it is just the way of a child until they reach school age and then manners are taught to them. While at the other end, the top of the chain, old men do exactly what they want and it is usually very rude. They push in front of queues, barge into people, drink, smoke and spit in the street, you name it. It can also be seen when “ Profile photo for Jeff Hamacher Jeff Hamacher , erstwhile student of aikido & jodo, Omotesenke tea ceremony Answered 6 years ago · Author has 906 answers and 916.3K answer views Originally Answered: Are Japanese people polite or fake? On the topic of pragmatics, which I think figures heavily into "polite" behaviour, a knowledgeable friend once said that it invariably involves some level of deceit. Similar to what Mark Mays and Robert Free point out, acting "politely" means withholding at least some of your most honest thoughts at least some of the time in order to avoid creating negative feelings within others. The Japanese, having at the core of their beliefs regarding social interactions an overarching concern about not "making waves", practise a very developed sort of pragmatics. If we entertain what I consider the false Profile photo for Johnny Smith Johnny Smith , lives in Japan Answered 5 years ago · Author has 333 answers and 755.1K answer views I would say that politeness in the Japanese society is enforced and highly situational. In Japan, you HAVE to be polite, there’s no other way around it. If you are not polite then you’re simply someone who lacks common sense. Politeness in Japan is enforced in that way. In most countries, politeness is considered to be something that some people go an extra mile for, to be “nice”, to make other people feel better. That’s why a Japanese who is polite in Japan may not be act politely in a foreign country, that’s the situational part. Besides, he is a at loss of what to do, because all of the stand Profile photo for David McFarland David McFarland , Nuclear I&C Instructor (2019-present) Answered 5 years ago · Author has 2K answers and 5.3M answer views Originally Answered: Are Japanese people polite or fake? At risk of generalizing… I’m not sure the term “fake” applies. It’s certainly more insulting than warranted. It is more that they (and much of the rest of the world) is a bit more disciplined and diplomatic. Being polite is not being fake. Pretending to be a friend to someone you hate is fake. Being polite to a race of people you hate isn’t fake, it’s self-control. We Americans have a tendency to be overly blunt with our emotions. To those that are not, we seem to be honest yet crude. Are we Americans crude? Perhaps. But it’s all a matter of perspective. They have a different culture. That differ Profile photo for Carina Silveira Carina Silveira , lives in Osaka, Japan Answered 3 years ago · Author has 216 answers and 146.3K answer views It's not the politeness that is fake, it's the unnecessary faked friendliness and forced smiles of service staff and the like. Once I had the displeasure of everyday having to join this group of ladies for lunch in my previous company. I'm usually sensitive to these things (especially having lived in a country where you don't master the language, you start picking up on these) and I had an impressiom from the beginning that a couple of these women weren't that okay with me joining, but shouganai ne. After a year in, lots of discussions and laugthers later, in the midst of a convo finally one of Profile photo for Nhai Fan Nhai Fan Answered 3 years ago · Author has 153 answers and 150.9K answer views Originally Answered: Are Japanese people polite or fake? They are just as “fake” as people in any other country. ”Politeness” can be considered as being “fake” anywhere. Do you think the cashier or your waiter actually cares when they ask “How are you?” I would bet you that the majority of the time, they couldn’t care less and ask out of politeness (as it’s a pretty common greeting in English-speaking countries). Every country has their customs and things they consider “polite”. Japan is no different. If you are referring to honne and tatemae, Japan isn’t unique. People tend to avoid conflict when they can, especially with people they are not close to. We Profile photo for Juri Nakahara Juri Nakahara , lives in Japan Answered 6 years ago · Author has 231 answers and 2.1M answer views I am a Japanese who hates fake. I do fake only when I have to and I'm really bad at doing that. I have to do fake when I'm spending time with someone superior or older whom I don't respect. And I notice some younger people doing fake to me, which I think it's much better to not do fake because I know they are acting to be friendly when they actually don't want to be friends with me. I would say politeness when being polite to people we respect is just "politeness", and if not, it's "fake". And I consider politeness in customer services as professional skills and it's something different Profile photo for Tom Kehoe Tom Kehoe , Firearms instructor, martial artist, bonsai-ka, longtime journalist Answered 6 years ago · Author has 1.4K answers and 17.5M answer views Come on, be real. "Politeness" is a social affectation in all countries that is used to ease social interactions. It's not fake, it's practiced. It simply makes life easier for all concerned. And yes, the Japanese have a culture that is heavily dependent on politeness. Is it "fake?" No, it's expected among folks who are properly cultured. It help smake their traditional society "work." Good manners are often part of cultures that have a strong martial history and a tradition of personal... Upgrade to Quora+ to access this answer Access millions more answers like this Browse ad‑free Support the writers you like to hear from 1.5K viewsView upvotes Profile photo for Jeremy Hayes Jeremy Hayes , Teacher at Anhui University (2022-present) Answered 1 year ago · Author has 1.4K answers and 1.7M answer views Interesting question. Politeness is used to keep things running smoothly and avoid conflict, a social norm that you can get used to pretty quick, but it’s interesting to note that the closer your relationships become, the less people try to be polite all the time. 97 viewsView upvotes Profile photo for Bill Fryer Bill Fryer , Translator and science addict Answered 2 years ago · Author has 401 answers and 1.4M answer views Politeness in Japan, especially linguistic politeness, is a very clever way of avoiding conflict. And while it may have some downsides, it is on the whole very effective, enabling 120 million people residing in one of the most densely populated places on earth to co-exist relatively harmoniously. 312 viewsView upvotes Profile photo for Nicky Sekino Nicky Sekino , M.A. Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages & Cross Cultural Awareness, Teachers College, Columbia U… Updated 2 years ago · Author has 2.2K answers and 1.6M answer views Is the politeness of the Japanese people fake? This is a good question. My honest answer is no. However, draw a line between being kind and being courteous and my position is the latter, indicating some aspect of the Japanese mindset. In short, the Japanese people are courteous and often think of ways to help others not facing some inconvenience. There is a term to describe this mindset: thoughtfulness. If I may, at this point, point out the confession of a Japanese celebrity, who thinks hotels should not offer new towels unless they wash them first. This is because new towels “will not absorb moist well.” He said on TV, “Customer-friendly hotels will wash new towels before they prepare them in the rooms, so the customers will enjoy moist-absorbing towels.” This is the idea of being courteous or thoughtful. Would you call it the act of kindness? 577 viewsView upvotesAnswer requested by Bùi Hoàng Hải Profile photo for Michael Dougan Michael Dougan , former Cafe Owner at Michael's Cafe American (2017-2021) Answered 3 years ago · Author has 1.8K answers and 11.2M answer views Having manners, and being polite, is the opposite of showing off. It’s a way of showing consideration and respect for others. Being polite isn’t exclusive to Japan, but it’s something Japanese society does well. Japan has a reputation for having maintained codes of conduct, and social graces that reduce friction, and favor harmony over disharmony, that many modern western civilizations have neglected or dismissed. It’s genuine. 日本の「礼儀正しさ」は実際に偽物ですか？それはただの見せびらかしですか？ WholeTomatoSoftwareによる広告 迷惑なタブは歴史です。 UnrealEngine用のビジュアルアシストをダウンロードしてください！ 111回答 ダニエル・マクラウリーのプロフィール写真 ダニエル・マクラウリー 、意欲的な数学者 6年前に回答済み・著者は3.3Kの回答と12.2Mの回答ビューを持っています ちょっとした秘密を教えてあげましょう。礼儀正しさはすべて「偽物」です。 私の中国人の友人は、私がまだ食べたかどうかを定期的に尋ねてきました。私は通常、彼が私の混乱に追いつくまで、昼食に出かけるように誘いました（午後3時は昼食に少し遅れますよね？）そして彼の出身地は「もう食べた？」と説明してくれました。標準的な定型的な挨拶です。 アメリカでは、「どうしたの？」という独自の定型的な挨拶があります。または「調子はどう？」外国人（特に私の経験ではドイツ人）は、なぜ私たちがそのような個人的な質問を絶えず尋ねるのかについて、非常に混乱していると報告しています。もちろん、アメリカ人は一般的に、標準的な定型的な答えで応答することを知っています：「それほど多くない、あなた？」または「元気ですか？」またはそのようなもの。 すべての文化には、完全に正常で、合理的で、防御できるように見え、部外者には奇妙で派手に見えるエチケットの精巧なルールがあります。ある文化のエチケットルールが、一見すると、あなたの文化のそれほど厳しくないバージョンのように見えるとき、あなたはそれらを失礼だと認識する傾向があります。それらがより厳格なバージョンのように見える場合、あなたはそれらを過度に礼儀正しいと感じる傾向があります。彼らがあなたの文化に完全に直交する規則を持っているとき、あなたはそれらを「不合理」または「エキゾチック」としばしば見るでしょう。 418Kビュービュー賛成ビュー3シェア 関連する質問 以下のその他の回答 日本で最も嫌われている外国人観光客は何ですか？ 日本で働くことの失望をどうやって乗り越えればいいのでしょうか？すべてが偽物で非現実的なようです。私は日本人と一緒にゲル化することができず、彼らのマスクの後ろを見るのが難しいと感じています。信頼できる人を見つけるのは難しいです。 なぜ日本はとても礼儀正しいのですか？ 礼儀正しさを文化的に重視している日本では、怒りはどのように適切に表現されているのでしょうか。 日本人は失礼ですか？ リチャード・ミューラーのプロフィール写真 リチャード・ミュラー 、著者「Now-Physics of Time」（ノートン2016）、Prof Physics UC Berkeley 6年前に回答済み・賛成 マルコ・ジャンコッティ 、日本在住（2011年〜現在）・著者の回答数は2.3K、回答数は193.6M 当初の回答：日本人は礼儀正しいですか、それとも偽物ですか？ 日本人はとてもフレンドリーで親切で礼儀正しいです。その行動は典型的なアメリカ人に彼らが彼らの良い友達になることに興味を持っているという誤解を与えます。それは私たちの間違いであり、彼らの間違いではありません。アメリカ人は、私たちが迅速な親密さを信じているという点で、珍しい文化的特徴を持っています。それは世界中で共有されておらず、確かに日本でも共有されていません。日本人が（例えばアメリカ人よりも）礼儀正しいとき、私たちアメリカ人はそれを親密さへの欲求と誤解し、私たちが失望したとき、彼らは偽物だったと思います。いいえ、それは私たちの間違いであり、彼らの間違いではありません。 日本人は私を考えなければならない チューリングが推進 turing.comが提供する米国のリモートソフトウェアエンジニアリングジョブは何ですか？チューリング開発者として採用するにはどうすればよいですか？ リモートソフトウェアジョブのアイコン VijayKrishnanのプロフィール写真 リモートソフトウェアジョブ ビジェイクリシュナン 2021年7月27日更新 Turing.comの共同創設者兼CTOであるVijayです。 Turingは、シリコンバレー、テキサス、ニューヨーク、ワシントン、フロリダの多くの米国企業と提携しています。フルスタック、フロントエンド、バックエンド、モバイル、UI / UX、DevOps、AI、データエンジンなど、多数のフルタイムのリモートロールの遂行を支援します （読み続けてください） JayLiuのプロフィール写真 ジェイ・リュー 、トムソンロイターで働いています 6年前に回答済み・著者は1.3Kの回答と1770万の回答ビューを持っています 当初の回答：日本人は礼儀正しいですか、それとも偽物ですか？ 彼女の人生のほとんどを日本で過ごした半韓国人はかつて私に言った： 「韓国人は失礼で本物ですが、日本人は礼儀正しく偽物です。」 もちろん、これは2つの文化の巨大な一般化であり、1日の終わりにはそれほど違いはありません。しかし、彼女にはポイントがあります。 日本人は間違いなく間接的なアプローチを好み、ほとんどすべての社会的な機会にマスクを着用します。彼らはこれらのマスクを非常に頻繁にそして完璧に着用するので、マスクは実際に実際の顔と融合することができます。その時点で、マスクが「偽物」であるかどうかを判断するのは難しいです... 100.7Kビュービュー賛成ビュー1シェア 竹内正美のプロフィール写真 竹内正美 、私は日本で生まれ、日本人です。 6年前に回答済み・賛成 シーラ浅藤 、関西外国語大学で日本文化と日本語を学ぶ（1979） 私は日本人で、礼儀正しくしようとしているときはそれを偽造しており、礼儀正しくしているときは偽造していません。ダニエル・マクラウリーが指摘したように、それは非常に文化的です。しかし、私はすべての礼儀正しさが偽物だとは思いません。 （ちなみに、私にとっては、「どうしたの？」や「元気？」という挨拶は、どの文化的文脈においても礼儀正しい形ではありません。たとえば、日本では、実はかなり失礼だと思います。ダニエルだと思います。 McLauryはこのインスタンスを使用してdiを実行していません