Quick question

[Johnathan]

How do you say "other half"? Would もう半分 be correct? As in, "my other half" or "[person's name]'s other half".

Thanks.

 

[kara]

もう半分(or 残りの半分 - nokori no hanbun) is correct as a general term, but when you mean your partner(wife/husband/lover etc), it sounds odd. In the latter case, 伴侶(はんりょ - hanryo) or 連れ合い(つれあい - tsureai) is correct. 相方(あいかた - aikata) is also popular among younger generation today.

But such expressions like 私の妻(watashi no tsuma - my wife), 私の夫(watashi no otto - my husband), 俺の彼女(ore no kanojo - my toots) are more natural and frequent in my opinion.

 

[Elizabeth]

欧米では、夫（妻）が妻（夫）を紹介する時の表現の一つが、「my better-half」です。
日本ではそれに相当する句としても何か使われるのでしょうか？

 

[NANGI]

Konnichiwa Elizabethsan!

I think there is not a good expression. Because Japanese husband never speak well of his wife usually.

But Hanryo is the most similar word i think... it means the harf fellow on life.

NANGI

 

[kirei_na_me]

I've always been told that wives and husbands usually never speak about each other to other people, especially something that could be taken as bragging(which I know we wouldn't consider the 'better half' thing bragging)? Like telling your wife is good at so-and-so. So, I don't think they would ever really refer to their spouse as a "better half" to someone else. It's just a cultural difference.

 

[Elizabeth]

I agree knm. Actually I couldn't really imagine it from my experience either as it would probably embarrass the other person more than anything although it is supposedly a graceful expression of modesty here in the West. Even in private with a man about his wife if the wife is good at something besides cooking or housework it is coached in terms like 'and sometimes I'm surprised by what she knows or what she can do.'

 

[Johnathan]

To me, "better half" seems self-insulting, kind of. Speaks highly of your spouse, and that seems bragging. "Other half" is equal. "You are my other half." "We are one." "We're two bodies, one soul." Etc. That wouldn't be considered "bragging" in Japan, would it? As viewed by people other than your spouse, I mean.

Even in private with a man about his wife if the wife is good at something besides cooking or housework it is coached in terms like 'and sometimes I'm surprised by what she knows or what she can do.'

Maybe the average Japanese woman is simply choosing the wrong guy to marry. ; Sounds like something western teen-girls would say to each other, "He doesn't deserve you." or "You deserve better than him."

 

[kirei_na_me]

What I meant by bragging, was bragging about your 'better half'. Saying that half is the better half would not really be bragging about your 'better half', but still can be taken that way, and it's just out of their comfort zone, I believe. Besides, they just don't say stuff like that. They think saying anything like that is silly. Fake, not genuine, etc. It's hard to understand, and it's even harder to explain to someone else. That's just not the way they do things. It's a difference in culture.

 

[Elizabeth]

To me, "better half" seems self-insulting, kind of. Speaks highly of your spouse, and that seems bragging. "Other half" is equal. "You are my other half." "We are one." "We're two bodies, one soul." Etc. That wouldn't be considered "bragging" in Japan, would it? As viewed by people other than your spouse, I mean.

It may not be bragging but it's still almost as unimaginable. Japanese people and speech are so much more concrete and practical than this, not given to musing about the compatibility of their inner beings or life of the soul.
And telling a friend that your wife isn't capable in certain areas is actually a pretty minor offense given the inequality that's still so pervasive there. Almost no one thinks in terms of divorce & remarriage as a personal choice women can make to improve their self-esteem with someone slightly more thoughtful or faithful.