Ky Language In Japan

The word “KY” stands for Kuuki Yomenai in Japanese, and it refers to the person who cannot read between the lines, and Cambridge Dictionary defines the phrase as to try to understand someone’s real feelings or intentions from what they say or write.Translating this Japanese phrase into English is quite difficult because such expressions reflect the unique Japanese culture. Because of the surprisingly increase of the number of young people today who cannot read between the lines, the word “KY” was nominated for Buzzword-of-the-word contest 2007, and It is a serious social problem in Japan. The skills of reading between lines are extremely important when communicating with especially the Japanese, and these are the key to being a good communicator,

An old Japanese saying goes “the eye is the window of the mind.” It means that the eye can express one’s feelings more than the mouth does. Since old time, Japanese people often carefully see the speakers’ eyes and try to catch what they are truly saying. Depending on cultural backgrounds, the ways of facial expressions are different when interpreting emotions by countries. Given that the eyes are more complex to control than the mouth when people express emotions, individuals in cultures such as Japan where emotional seduction is the norm would focus more sharply on the eyes than the mouth when to interpreting others’ emotions. (“Are”) For this reason, by carefully watching speakers’ eyes, it is possible to catch up their true feelings and read between the

While some people believe reading between the lines is essential, other people believe it is better to say whatever they think directly. However, the Japanese do not try to tell their opinions directly, and it is the characteristic of the Japanese. There is a well-known theory that Japan is an island and people use to live in small communities together, so they try to avoid conflicts and retain harmony. Thus, at least people raised in Japanese environment unconsciously have such a sense. Directly mention whatever ones want to say may be important when to communicate with the Westerners, but in the case of with the Japanese, it is not desirable. Such people might be thought selfish or assertion in Japan. Instead of that, most of the information is either in the physical context or internalized in person, and people are more sensitive to nonverbal messages. (Jandt#) For this reason, the Japanese need to understand hidden messages under what people