JapanIn Tokyo I was surprised to discover my Japanese friends using an English-letter acronym, "K.Y.," to describe certain people -- a term that always brought a laugh. What could it possibly mean? Though at first I was thinking of jelly, my friends told me it actually stood for "Kuukie yomanai." "Yomanai" means "unable to read." Though "kuukie" sounds like a cookie-monster pronunciation of "cookie," it actually refers to atmosphere. The term taken as a whole, "unable to read the atmosphere," refers to a socially ignorant person, i.e. the one in the group who adamantly thinks you should go left when everyone else wants to go right. Social conflict is highly stigmatized in Japan, so don't be so "K.Y."!
More tips from Dalena Frost
- No other tips from this author.
Comments
Posted on 5/21/2009 by
Miyaunna Dechelle
I live in Japan, too! The first time I heard that I just stared, open-mouthed. I had no clue what it meant until my friend translated for me.
Post a Comment