Common sense you need to know about life in Japan

Language taboos

The Japanese have many language taboos, such as "bitter" and "death". Even some words with homophones are also taboos, such as the numeral "4" The pronunciation of "42" is the same as death, and the pronunciation of "42" is the verb form of death, so hospitals generally do not have rooms and beds with numbers 4 and 42. It is also taboo for users to use "42" in their phone numbers, and prisons generally do not have Cell No. 4. "13" is also a taboo number. Many hotels do not have "13" floors and "13" rooms, and Haneda Airport does not have "13" apron.

On festive occasions such as weddings, avoid using unlucky and ominous words such as going, returning, returning, leaving, breaking, thin, cold, shallow, extinguishing, repeating, again, breaking, and cutting off. When opening a store or completing a new store, avoid using words related to fireworks, bankruptcy, collapse, tilt, loss, decline, and fire. Avoid talking about people's physical defects in conversations. Do not use words such as big, short, fat, bald, pockmarked, blind, deaf, or mute. Instead, call the disabled as physically handicapped, the blind as those with blind eyes, and the deaf as ears. Unfree people etc.

Behavioral taboos

Japan is known as a disciplined society, and people's behavior is restricted by certain norms. In formal social occasions, men and women must wear suits and formal wear, and avoid being disheveled, behaving awkwardly, and making loud noises. When communicating, there are rules for folding letters and affixing stamps. For example, avoid using double-layered envelopes when sending letters of condolences. Double-layered envelopes are considered to be a sign of misfortune; stamps for letters sent to lovers cannot be affixed upside down, otherwise it means breaking up the relationship.

Japanese people also have many dietary taboos: they generally do not eat fat meat and pig offal, and some people do not eat mutton and duck. It is taboo to overfill the rice when entertaining guests, and do not eat it with just one spoon Serve a bowl well; it is taboo for guests to eat only one bowl, and eating only one bowl is considered to be a symbol of missed opportunities; it is taboo to arrange one's clothes or touch or arrange hair with hands during the meal, because this is unhygienic and impolite behavior; Japan When using chopsticks, avoid placing them on top of dishes. In Japan, when greeting a waiter, you have to extend your arm upwards, palm down, and wiggle your fingers. The waiter will understand. When negotiating, the Japanese circle their thumb and index finger into an "O" shape. If you nod in agreement, the Japanese will think that you will give him a sum of cash. In Japan, scratching one's scalp is a sign of anger and dissatisfaction.

Social taboos

When Japanese people give gifts, they give gifts in pairs, such as a pair of pens and two bottles of wine. It is very popular, but when giving red envelopes to newlyweds, it is taboo to give 2 Ten thousand yen and multiples of 2. Japanese people believe that the number "2" can easily lead to the breakup of a couple's relationship. Generally, gifts of 30,000, 50,000 or 70,000 yen are given. The color of gift wrapping paper is also particular. Black and white represent mourning, and green is ominous. It is not advisable to use red wrapping paper. It is best to use colorful paper to wrap gifts.

The Japanese receive guests not in the office, but in conference rooms and reception rooms. They will not easily lead people into confidential office departments. Banquets are not popular in Japan, and business people do not have the habit of bringing their wives to banquets. Banquets in the business world are cocktail parties held in large hotels. Japanese people do not have the habit of toasting cigarettes to each other. You must take off your shoes when entering a Japanese home. In Japan, it is considered impolite to peek into the host's kitchen when visiting their home. In Japan, it is not customary to invite colleagues to your home to socialize with the whole family. Japanese people never bring their work home, and wives also regard it as a virtue not to participate in their husband's career.