Why do Japanese people think i'm japanese even i'm not at all as good as other japanese speakers?

Question

When i start speaking, they say they think i'm japanese, and they start asking if im a japanese person. But i'm not even good as say 1st generation Japanese americans..or tons of others that go to japan. I have never gone to japan, never meet any japanese people, i just talk to myself in my room to practice. Why then are they surprised to hear a very bad japanese speaker( me), when there's a bunch of foreigners who REALLY are good and fluent? Is it that some of Japanese people haven't experience foreigners who are good at japanese? In fact sometimes they tell me that they meet Americans, but that all of them have an accent. But according to them i don't. Let me tell you about my style: I know well the basics, know enough words and the things i know i speak fluently, but i'm missing so much vocab that i don't know,, and if it's starts getting into some kind of deep conversation about business, politics, literature, etc i'm like a total novice and i don't know anything..

Answer 1

Keep in mind that Japanese folks are going to say nice things to you to give you face. Your Japanese may in fact be as bad as you say, but since saying that to you would make you feel bad, they won't do it. It is more of a custom in japan than the US , but, really, would you tell someone learning English that they speak poorly?

Answer 2

I've had a similar experience myself.
Even so much as asking if I was from a certain part of Japan (at that time I had never even been to Japan).

Maybe your pronounciation for your basics are really good, and because they don't get into the deep and meaningful conversations they are just going to assume.

Possibly they might be thinking that your parents (or one of them at least) is Japanese, but you were born abroad, and therefore can only speak the basics.

Are you part Japanese?
Im not, but when I went to Japan from Korea (im not Korean either) the Japanese staff spoke to me in Korean, and the Korean staff spoke to me in Japanese. It was like nobody quite knew where I was from (im from NZ)... luckily I can speak both languages to some degree.

There are many foreigners fluent in Japanese (me not being one of them), but I guess they still do get a surprise. Occasionally they are just doing it to be nice, and complimenting you on your efforts.

Answer 3

They don't really think so, if they did they wouldn't say anything. I was an exchange student to Japan and anytime I said anything in Japanese to a person I didn't know, they'd tell me my Japanese was excellent (even if all I'd said was "ohayo gozaimasu") The other exchange student at my school always knew she'd made a mistake whenever people randomly complemented her Japanese.

Answer 4

A re wa o sei ji da! hon ne jya nai da! (guy's form)

A re wa o sei ji deshyo! hon ne jya nai ka mo si re nai yo (gal's form)

Japanese think it is polite to encourage the foreigners to learn Japanese by saying positive things. When they say "wow, you are good, where did you learn that, you must be a very hard working student"... etc... that means they know you are not native and ... they will speak slow and simple Japanese to you and of course they prepare to correct you when you made mistake.

Answer 5

The Japanese are very polite. They probably don't want to offend you by asking if you're a foreigner.

Answer 6

Now a days people don't speak true to their native languages. Most of the time people talk in slang. You know just enough to get by them.

Answer 7

I'm sure not all Japanese speak perfect Japanese and certainly their are peopel that don't speak it all all, since they were born / or raised in America.

Answer 8

Japanese people are just too polite to tell you that you suck to your face. They just laugh about it later....

Answer 9

Maybe you look japanese

Answer 10

you are possibly just reminding them of themselves, probably bacause your speaking isn't quite perfect