Respect

Joined
19 May 2007
Messages
1,716
Reaction score
113
There is no good translation for this word respect. For example, in English you can say "please give me the respect I deserve." but in Japanese I have yet to find a good way of saying something like this without sounding all high and mighty(偉そう). If anyone has a good way of saying this I would love to hear it. Thanks. BTW, I know all the translation for respect and I don't need a "直訳" chokuyaku or literal translation. 😅
 
This isn't a language problem. This is a matter of differing opinions about the level of respect one "deserves". Just because I think I'm entitled to x amount of respect doesn't mean another person is obligated to hold me in the same regard.
 
In which situation?
With your boss, your co-worker or customer asking unreasonable request, or with your girlfriend?
 
There is no good translation for this word respect. For example, in English you can say "please give me the respect I deserve." but in Japanese I have yet to find a good way of saying something like this without sounding all high and mighty(偉そう). If anyone has a good way of saying this I would love to hear it. Thanks. BTW, I know all the translation for respect and I don't need a "直訳" chokuyaku or literal translation.😌
Even in America you can't say it publicly without sounding all high and mighty. 😌 The only exception may be exorbitantly over-priced (valued) athletes or other celebrities trying to renegotiate their contracts. People who likely don't have a lot of self-respect to begin with so they like to defer that responsibility to others...
 
This isn't a language problem. This is a matter of differing opinions about the level of respect one "deserves". Just because I think I'm entitled to x amount of respect doesn't mean another person is obligated to hold me in the same regard.
Your answer is a cop out if you ask me, what does this have to do with the translation of the statement? I am asking how someone would go about saying something like this, which is BTW a perfectly fine question to be asked in English, But obviously is quite difficult to be translated. If I go along with your way of thinking , any question I ask to be translated will end up with the same kind of answer, eg if I wanted this translated "What is the thermal conductivity coefficient of metal at high temperatures?" and your answer would be "this is not a language problem but more a problem with physics and the nature of a particular metal. " or if you said to a child "How much icecream do you think you deserve for being good?" agian your answer would be "this is about differing oppinions about how I think the child deserves as oppossed to the child thoughts." :eek:

Let me rephrase, "Show the respect that your parents deserve." or how about this one "Respect your elders" . Every translation I have come across is always very hard for a native Japanese to understand.

In which situation?
With your boss, your co-worker or customer asking unreasonable request, or with your girlfriend?
I am talking with one of my staff in this situation. Implying that there needs to be a certain amount of respect shown to ones superiors, especially with the freeshman staff.
 
Last edited:
Even in America you can't say it publicly without sounding all high and mighty. 😌 The only exception may be exorbitantly over-priced (valued) athletes or other celebrities trying to renegotiate their contracts. People who likely don't have a lot of self-respect to begin with so they like to defer that responsibility to others...
I do believe that, but there are times in work situations when this can be said to staff when disrespect is shown to another person. I realise that it is not an expression that is positive and the reciveing end is usually being given a strong talking to. But in some situations (depends on the mindset of the person) this can have a positive effect on someone to pull them back in line when they have gotten out of it. But in Japan, I have never come across a situation where asking someone for respect is positive. I don't know whether it is just not possible or that I just have not been informed yet. I accept if it is not possible to be said, but I still believe in searching all my options when it comes to expressing myself and in return being percieved exactly the way I want to be.
 
Your answer is a cop out if you ask me, what does this have to do with the translation of the statement? I am asking how someone would go about saying something like this, which is BTW a perfectly fine question to be asked in English, But obviously is quite difficult to be translated. If I go along with your way of thinking , any question I ask to be translated will end up with the same kind of answer, eg if I wanted this translated "What is the thermal conductivity coefficient of metal at high temperatures?" and your answer would be "this is not a language problem but more a problem with physics and the nature of a particular metal. " or if you said to a child "How much icecream do you think you deserve for being good?" agian your answer would be "this is about differing oppinions about how I think the child deserves as oppossed to the child thoughts." :eek:
Let me rephrase, "Show the respect that your parents deserve." or how about this one "Respect your elders" . Every translation I have come across is always very hard for a native Japanese to understand.

Just because your daily life is keeping your panties jammed up your crack is no call to vent on me.

I am talking with one of my staff in this situation. Implying that there needs to be a certain amount of respect shown to ones superiors, especially with the freeshman staff.

上司に向かって言葉に気を付けろ。

Howzat?
 
Last edited:
お前、自分の立場を考えろ。目上に向かってそんな態度をとっていいと思う?ボケ!

Just one attempt to help.

I think that it's probably best to frame this in terms of social hierarchy, rather than simply, "Respect me!" even if my attempt isn't very good.
 
Just because your daily like is keeping your panties jammed up your crack is no call to vent on me.
上司に向かって言葉に気を付けろ。
Howzat?
U
Unfortunately I was not venting, however I was replying to your obvious lack of interest in my question, which BTW you still have failed to answer. Funny when people get given the same back they get all defensive, makes me laugh really.

上司に向かって言葉に気を付けろ。 "Be careful of what you say when addressing your boss. "
This still does not address the question I had about using the word or meaning of the the word respect. Your answer typical of what someone might say when telling staff to watch what they say to people.

Answer by translating this , a simple question which has nothing to do with me , but I will use for the purpose of showing that there is not a good word or translation for the word respect "How do you gain respect?"
 
お前、自分の立場を考えろ。目上に向かってそんな態度 をとっていいと思う?ボケ!

Just one attempt to help.

I think that it's probably best to frame this in terms of social hierarchy, rather than simply, "Respect me!" even if my attempt isn't very good.
That's a great answer and it is what can be said about peoples attitudes. However I just can't seem to find how to express myself in regards to respect. I grew up with this word being very important, getting and showing people respect so on and so forth.
 
I think the problem, though, is that the word "respect" is not used so much in Japanese.

I remember some years back a survey asking kids if they "respect"(尊敬する) their parents. I remember thinking that it sounded strange to my ears, as I always thought respecting one's parents was a different kind of respect than that.

That is why I think that it's best in Japanese not to be so particular to the word "respect", but rather put it in terms of the social order, where it is assumed that one should respect his or her superiors. With that assumption in place, there'S no need to specifically state it per se.

At the very least, I have never heard the expressions 尊敬しろ or 敬服しろ or the like in real-life Japanese.
 

I think the problem, though, is that the word "respect" is not used so much in Japanese.

I remember some years back a survey asking kids if they "respect"(尊敬する) their parents. I remember thinking that it sounded strange to my ears, as I always thought respecting one's parents was a different kind of respect than that.

That is why I think that it's best in Japanese not to be so particular to the word "respect", but rather put it in terms of the social order, where it is assumed that one should respect his or her superiors. With that assumption in place, there's no need to specifically state it per se.

At the very least, I have never heard the expressions 尊敬しろ or 敬服しろ or the like in real-life Japanese.
Neither have I , but I thought I would ask you guys here and see if it was just me lacking in that department. Believe me ,I have been in many a argument that involves a lack of respect on the their behalf, not necessarily towards me but to patients in general.
 
Neither have I , but I thought I would ask you guys here and see if it was just me lacking in that department. Believe me ,I have been in many a aurgument that involves a lack of respect on the their behalf, not necessarly towards me but to patients in general.
If it's towards the patients, like staff is not showing the elderly the particular consideration you see that they are worth or the regard they deserve as paying clientele, I suppose you could use something around 礼儀正しい or 敬意 (pay/show respect to) (私はあなたの上司だからそれ相応に敬意を払わなければならない。) or even 尊重。


There are more conciliatory expressions that evidently haven't worked in this case. I basically feel uncomfortable, though, trying to answer more without more of a nuanced context to work from. 😌

Answer by translating this , a simple question which has nothing to do with me , but I will use for the purpose of showing that there is not a good word or translation for the word respect "How do you gain respect?"
どうやって尊敬を得るのですか? :?
 
like mikawa said, the kind of respect you mentioned are expected from the social order, and are rarely mentioned in conversation. Even when someone needs to be reminded to show respect, the word "respect" probably wouldn't come up. While there are words like 敬老 (respect for the elderly) and 親孝行 (filial piety), In a request to show more respect, I would say something more along the lines of もっと適切(or 丁寧)な言葉で話してください。 I like 適切 because it implies that there is an understood level of politeness that is to be expected, without directly mentioning respect at all.

Of course, it depends on the situation, but it's say, a member of your staff that isn't showing the proper respect to a patient, I might say something like 患者さんと話してるときは、もっと適切な言葉で話しましょうね。 Although I'd have to say that I'd never say "give me the respect I deserve" in either English or Japanese; it just sounds like an invitation to treat me with even less respect :p
 
like mikawa said, the kind of respect you mentioned are expected from the social order, and are rarely mentioned in conversation. Even when someone needs to be reminded to show respect, the word "respect" probably wouldn't come up. While there are words like 敬老 (respect for the elderly) and 親孝行 (filial piety), In a request to show more respect, I would say something more along the lines of もっと適切(or 丁寧)な言葉で話してください。 I like 適切 because it implies that there is an understood level of politeness that is to be expected, without directly mentioning respect at all.

Of course, it depends on the situation, but it's say, a member of your staff that isn't showing the proper respect to a patient, I might say something like 患者さんと話してるときは、もっと適切な言葉で話しましょうね。 Although I'd have to say that I'd never say "give me the respect I deserve" in either English or Japanese; it just sounds like an invitation to treat me with even less respect :p
I was assuming more roundabout expressions had been tried and for one reason or another, found ineffective or nonmotivational. If it isn't an issue with wording or cultural communication but with a basic level attitude of your employees, as I'm starting to suspect, that's also quite a different story altogether.
 
I gave you what is functionally almost identical to what M.O. gave you. You hated mine and loved his. You're just being a petuous ***.

It is hilarious that you claim "I grew up with this word being very important, getting and showing people respect so on and so forth." yet showed me none whatsoever.
 
You could get the same message across in a round about way using 扱う.

あなたの私の扱い方にはがまんならない。
あなたの私に対する扱いはどうかと思います。

And by the way...

RESPEK!!!
 
Last edited:
I gave you what is functionally almost identical to what M.O. gave you. You hated mine and loved his. You're just being a petuous ***.

It is hilarious that you claim "I grew up with this word being very important, getting and showing people respect so on and so forth." yet showed me none whatsoever.
Good on you Mike. Now complaining that I disrespected you when I gave you my oppinion and analogy from your first post without any snide remarks or personal attacks, so I believe I respected your answer however I did not agree with it and said so accordingly, but you replied with me having my panties up my crack in your next post. So yes, why should I take you seriously and show you any respect as you seem to like stirring up trouble from your posts directed to me, like I said before respect is earned ,not automaticaly aplied. Oh and BTW I think the word you are looking for is "petulant ***".

So have a good day, because I much more pressing concerns than worry about what you think.
 
like mikawa said, the kind of respect you mentioned are expected from the social order, and are rarely mentioned in conversation. Even when someone needs to be reminded to show respect, the word "respect" probably wouldn't come up. While there are words like 敬老 (respect for the elderly) and 親孝行 (filial piety), In a request to show more respect, I would say something more along the lines of もっと適切(or 丁寧)な言葉で話してください。 I like 適切 because it implies that there is an understood level of politeness that is to be expected, without directly mentioning respect at all.

Of course, it depends on the situation, but it's say, a member of your staff that isn't showing the proper respect to a patient, I might say something like 患者さんと話してるときは、もっと適切な言葉で話しま しょうね。 Although I'd have to say that I'd never say "give me the respect I deserve" in either English or Japanese; it just sounds like an invitation to treat me with even less respect

Yeah, I have those words without getting the desired effect that I was looking for (敬老,親孝行). However your other examples get across the message through my experience. Maybe it is just me, but all this time I have felt that there was a better way to get the message across, again it just maybe me worried that what I have said has had an impact on the other party(going back to my previous concerns about how people here adhere to the "本音と建て前")

I am not saying that I want to use that statement , however there are times when I have felt it would have been appropriate. I do however feel that the word cannot be used in the same fashion as we do in English and would have loved to know if there was a way that could be said for a Japanese person to relate to.

Elisabeth, as you say there are other factors here at work, but the main one is getting the message across load and clear. Ever wondered why another fluent gaijins Japanese is easy to understand? Because we basically have the same way of thinking and expressing ourselves. Admittedly that way of thinking gradually fades with time after immersing yourself in this culture. But every now and again you get blank looking faces b/c you used an English derived expression, even though it has been translated perfectly. The fact is if it is not something the person is used to hearing or has heard it losses it effect. I said something similar to this before however it was not regarding me(私はあなたの上司だからそれ相応に敬意を払わなけ ればならない。) and the response was "In what way" so based on that, I feel that there is just not a good way of using the word respect.
 
A couple of observations:

1. You're insisting on fitting a linguistic round peg into a cultural square hole. No wonder you're frustrated.

2. You're confusing "respect" and "civility".

And thanks for the correction on "petulant". It is indeed the word I was searching for.

Outside of this thread, where have I shown a predeliction toward stirring up trouble with posts interacting with you?
 
I do however feel that the word cannot be used in the same fashion as we do in english and would have loved to know if there was a way that could be said for a Japanese person to relate to.

How about we just agree that to the Japanese you can't use "respect" in an easily translatable form. It's like asking for a simple standardized literal English equivalent for "よろしくお願いします". Just doesn't translate the way you want/hope without taking into context all the nuances/subtleties/circumstances involved. Oh, and let's try and stay civil and avoid future name-calling. You guys should know better.
 
How about we just agree that to the Japanese you can't use "respect" in an easily translatable form. It's like asking for a simple standardized literal English equivalent for "よろしくお願いします". Just doesn't translate the way you want/hope without taking into context all the nuances/subtleties/circumstances involved. Oh, and let's try and stay civil and avoid future name-calling. You guys should know better.
I'm not convinced the core level meaning of the word is that different between the two languages or that a translation is intrinsically culturally nuanced. Native speakers I've asked at least about some of these "respect" expressions have not had any difficulty coming up with viable equivalents.

The problem is the word simply is not used nearly as much as Japanese for some of the reasons explained above and thus has a very different implication when it is brought out. 😌
 
I'm not convinced the core level meaning of the word is that different between the two languages or that a translation is intrinsically culturally nuanced. Native speakers I've asked at least about some of these "respect" expressions have not had any difficulty coming up with viable equivalents.

The problem is the word simply is not used nearly as much as Japanese for some of the reasons explained above and thus has a very different implication when it is brought out. 😌

I think I may have heard the word used at most about three times over the last two decades. The concept of behaving/speaking in a manner appropriate to one's position relative to another person I've heard come up quite a bit. But never with "respect" attached to it anywhere.
 
A couple of observations:

1. You're insisting on fitting a linguistic round peg into a cultural square hole. No wonder you're frustrated.

2. You're confusing "respect" and "civility".

And thanks for the correction on "petulant". It is indeed the word I was searching for.

Outside of this thread, where have I shown a predeliction toward stirring up trouble with posts interacting with you?
1. I don't believe I am insiisting on doing that as I said in my first post "If any one has a good way of saying that I would love to hear it", I am how ever reaching out and using any means to find if there is a better way of useing the word respect in its general meaning.

2. I don't believe I am , why? B/c people, especialy here can be very civil while being extremly disrespectful. Respect as you know is not only about words, but is as wikipedia says "an assumption of good faith and competence in another person or in the whole of oneself and depth of integrity, trust,actions and attitudes towards other people." This is something that the English language has lumped together and called respect.

And Mike ,I never said anything about outside this thread.

I think I may have heard the word used at most about three times over the last two decades. The concept of behaving/speaking in a manner appropriate to one's position relative to another person I've heard come up quite a bit. But never with "respect" attached to it anywhere.

Elizabeth, I have to agree with Mike here, I also have rarely heard it being used even when one of the mangers are addressing a situation in which I beleive the word could be used. I have to also agree with Iron Chef as well, it was a last ditch effort to see if it was possible to get a good translation so I guess what I am doing now is right.

Thanks for all who posted.
 
Elizabeth, I have to agree with Mike here, I also have rarely heard it being used even when one of the mangers are addressing a situation in which I beleive the word could be used. I have to also agree with Iron Chef as well, it was a last ditch effort to see if it was possible to get a good translation so I guess what I am doing now is right.
Thanks for all who posted.
I don't see the contradictions you're talking about. I said, or maybe I should say meant to stress more emphatically, was that translations were possible, the core meaning of the word didn't necessarily change (based on dictionaries & people I've spoken with) but 'respect' as a term was hardly used in Japanese for the cultural reasons already stated so that it isn't a natural expression. 😌

What you're doing now I assume is trying a different take on what you've done before -- using a softer, less direct approach for these problems ?
 
Back
Top Bottom