Comments on: Enryo

By: Daniel

Daniel — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 13:21:16 +0000

I think enryo means no most of the time because of its Japanese context.

Is there really such thing as a non-Japanese context for enryo?

By: puri

puri — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 13:05:53 +0000

I think enryo means no most of the time because of its Japanese context. I have talked to many friends of mine from various Asian countries and they all have their own words for enryo in their languages, but I am not so sure if they all are used in such context as much as the Japanese version is. In Thai, my native tongue, enryo means enryo and just that. We can use it as an indirect command too though.

By: Roy Berman

Roy Berman — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:37:22 +0000

I had a very irritating conversation a few months back in which I failed to convince someone that “enryo” is in fact a firm command. He argued something like “but they’re just asking you to consider other people around when you decide whether or not to smoke, not actually forbidding you to.”

By: Daniel

Daniel — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:33:40 +0000

Yeah, enryo shinai de is pretty good, and enryo naku is definitely code for “I’ve steeled myself emotionally to handle whatever you’re about to say/do, so just say/do it!”

By: xee

xee — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 13:26:41 +0000

oh but you missed off enryo shinaide! Which I’ve always taken to mean ‘don’t even think about excusing your way out of this one, sunshine’.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:08:50 +0000

I’m not sure about that. If you give your full belly a pat, smile, and then say enryo shimasu, I think she’d understand that you’re full and take it as a joke. Of course, “kekkou” or “ii” are preferred in that situation.

By: jay

jay — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 05:50:34 +0000

Enryo shimasu is definitely worth mastering. I would like to add one caveat however. Because of the finality of enryo shimasu, it is less useful with people who feel close to you. If someone is here in Japan doing a home stay and their host mother asks if you’d like a second helping of her niku jaga, sensitive host moms may assume you didn’t like it. When people “enryo” from something there is often a reason. People close to you may ask or assume that reason. People more distant or less familiar will most likely respect the request.

By: Carl

Carl — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 03:18:21 +0000

One of the strongest command forms in English is “I am afraid I am going to have to ask you to X” as in “Sir, if you don’t stop breaking dancing in the display window, I am afraid I am going to have to ask you to leave.”