Welcome to Episode 15 of Real Japanese Talk with Haruka & Saki! 🗼🐙

In this episode, Saki shares another wasei-eigo disaster from her foreign intern: he marched up to his boss and said "I have a CLAIM!" His boss turned PALE, grabbed his bag, and started rushing out the door — "Which customer?! What's the issue?! I'll handle it now!" Because in Japanese, "claim" doesn't mean what it does in English.

Haruka breaks down one of Japan's most dangerous wasei-eigo for business: the difference between Japanese「クレーム」(complaint) and English "claim" (assertion). You'll learn the 3 essential business words you MUST know — 文句 (monku, harsh complaint), 謝罪 (shazai, apology), and 対応 (taiou, to handle) — plus the deep cultural philosophy of "apologizing to feelings, not facts" that defines Japanese business etiquette.

Master these and you'll never accidentally make your Japanese boss panic.

【Today's Vocabulary / 今日の言葉】

・文句 (もんく) - Complaints or grievances directed at someone, with a strong, confrontational nuance. Often sounds aggressive, as in 「文句あるんか！」 (You got a problem?!) or 「文句言うな！」 (Stop complaining!). Always avoided in business — replaced with softer terms like 「ご相談」(consultation) or 「ご提案」(proposal).

・謝罪 (しゃざい) - Acknowledging one's mistakes or misconduct and apologizing. Equivalent to English "apology." In Japanese business, starting with a 謝罪 is the rule when receiving a complaint. The culture distinguishes between "apologizing to feelings" and "apologizing to facts" — phrases like 「ご不快な思いをさせて申し訳ございません」(I apologize for any unpleasantness) let you express empathy without admitting factual fault.

・対応 (たいおう) - Taking appropriate action in response to a situation or problem. Equivalent to "to handle" or "to deal with." Different from 「解決」(complete resolution) — 「対応」 means taking appropriate action right now, even if the problem isn't fully solved yet. Phrases like 「迅速に対応します」(I'll handle it quickly) and 「丁寧に対応する」(handle it carefully) are essential in Japanese business.

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