Stop Saying わざわざ!!!

[@HaiTomVlog]

One of the pitfalls of self studying: coming across words like this (けっこうです also comes to mind) is that you don’t realize it’s use or meaning has changed or is rude until you’ve used it a bit and someone else pulls you aside to say “psst! By the way…” 😅 Thanks for the info on this word too!

[@UnimportantAcc]

excellent one!

[@ToKiniAndy]

I'm happy to hear that it was helpful information. Excellent point on けっこうです. Another video idea maybe??? haha I'll be sure to give you credit if I use it. ;-)

[@Omni0404]

Crap, really? Thanks for the info!

[@blakeinjapan333]

I've used it many times, and never did I get a negative reaction. Why is it rude to use?

[@HaiTomVlog]

@@blakeinjapan333 the way it was described to me was that it came off as a little bit snobbish… I guess it’s like super formal? 🤷🏻‍♂️ Maybe Andy can explain it…

[@skyty0]

Thanks for explaining! I can't believe I わざ using this word wrong for so long.

[@ToKiniAndy]

😂😂😂

[@chrislane1817]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@NilfgardianNationalist]

You explored it pretty deep! Showing how serious you are about teaching people REAL Japanese!

[@ToKiniAndy]

=) 見てくれてありがとう

[@ReiYuriko]

This reminds me of the shift form “You’re welcome.” to “No problem.” for young people in the US. Young people find you’re welcome a bit rude. For young people it implies that the act was deserving of thanks. No problem on the other hand implies that thanks are not needed because it was no inconvenience. This is considered more polite and humble for young Americans.

[@RusticRonnie]

I’ve never heard of your welcome being rude. Just more like it’s awkward. Edit: But I’m gen Z so I’m may be even younger.

[@unmemorablehero]

I’ve also heard that your welcome in Japanese feels the same way. I believe most people just say no, no problem, etc.

[@haleyg4250]

@@RusticRonnie I'm gen z too but I see how it can be rude. Like if you say it in a certain way it definitely implies that you think you're not being thanked enough

[@ToKiniAndy]

Excellent comparison. It's funny how Your welcome has some to feel weird. Even for me. Despite being raised to say it. On the other hand: "No problem" is also often perceived by the listener as being somewhat off-putting (even if they don't realize consciously), apparently. It can seem to imply that if it had been difficult or inconvenient that you WOULDN'T have done it. I seem to remember some research I read on that. Super interesting stuff.

[@jmccullagh79]

I'm seeing a shift to "of course" or "my pleasure" as a better perceived response to thank yous. No problem can indicate that the action was perceived subconsciously as a problem.

[@SD._]

Thank you for all your hard work.

[@ToKiniAndy]

Thanks. And thanks for watching! =)

[@SD._]

@@ToKiniAndy I am only starting to learn Japanese . Your Genki lessons are very useful. Ps. Your students are very lucky to have you as a teacher.

[@Unit27]

Really interesting seeing how a word can have a certain feeling for native speakers.

[@ToKiniAndy]

Yeah, this chart was super interesting to me. Glad you thought so too! =) And Yuki's explanation I mention at the end as well, was a surprise.

[@GotenksRulez]

I love you andy, you are an angel sent by the shinto gods of language teaching.

[@ToKiniAndy]

I THINK I'm human. But I'd love to meet some of those guys. haha Thank you for watching! =)

[@Omni0404]

Andy bringing the data! I woulda believed you without the pie chart though 😆

[@creed404yt9]

I always thought wazawaza have a similar meaning to kekkyoku

[@five6360]

FYI the conclusion of the cited survey was to be careful when using わざわざ, not to discourage or avoid using わざわざ outright. But after reading how that survey was conducted, I'd even go as far to say that I completely disagree with that conclusion as well. Why? Because there is a major flaw in the survey's design. The survey as described is asking the reader to pick which of the following sounds better: (1) きょうはお越しいただき、ありがとうございます (2) きょうはわざわざお越しいただき、ありがとうございます and to do so without any further context whatsoever. In other words, the survey doesn't tell us if the person we're thanking had to endure a 5-minute commute to come visit us, or a 5-hour one, whether the travel conditions were safe or dangerous, etc. So I could see how people would gravitate towards (1) because we are presented with these two sentences in a vacuum and there isn't enough information to judge whether using わざわざ would be more appropriate. For all we know we could be addressing one of our neighbors or something, in which case (2) becomes a very strange thing to say, assuming of course that we're not aiming to be hurtful or sarcastic. Because of how it was designed, I don't think the survey makes a strong case that わざわざ has a higher chance of being negatively perceived by the younger generation, nor do I think we can conclude that the meaning/nuance of わざわざ has shifted to be more negative in recent years. Based on personal experience, and especially for situations where you know that the person you're addressing went above and beyond to help you (or someone you know) out, I'd contend that わざわざ is still a very appropriate and safe way of emphasizing one's gratitude, and has a very low chance of being interpreted negatively by the listener.

[@ToKiniAndy]

You may be right that the study is flawed. However, it's worth noting that the reason I looked it up in the first place was because I was super surprised when some Japanese people I know under 30 mentioned how わざわざ felt rude to them, and as I mentioned in the story I don't hear it much in day to day life at all. Anecdotal? Sure. Still interesting. If you want to use it though, nothing stopping you. =) Edit: Also, I realize you're mostly reacting to the clickbait title and thumbnail, and perhaps less what I said in the clip from the lesson. Which is totally fair. I know a lot of people hate "clickbait", so understandable.

[@five6360]

​@@ToKiniAndy That is interesting, thanks for the extra context. No worries I don't have anything against clickbait, that's just what KZbinrs have to do to get picked up by the algorithm

[@homerthompson416]

That's funny. When I was playing 逆転裁判 the word わざわざ sounded pretty negative when it was said by a witness on the stand (who ended up being the true criminal) complaining about going out of his way to come testify and was complaining about questions I was asking him. But then it sounded it more positive when わざわざ was used by ナルホド (the lawyer in the game) to tell the defendant (after being cleared of murder charges) how his girlfriend went out of her way to carry this heavy ass clock the defendant had made for her when taking a long trip to the US, so the lawyer was implying it must have had real sentimental value to her. Though this game came out in 2001.

[@ToKiniAndy]

I remember the part you're speaking of. Played that part recently myself. lol Keep in mind: even if the percentage was small, some people DO still prefer to use わざわざ. As I point out in the video though, the majority is beginning to lean towards it having a negative feel. =) Also, ナルホド is only describing what happened. In simple descriptions, I don't think most people would consider わざわざ to be negative. It's more when thanking people for things, or describing your own actions.

[@Come2JapanDan]

わざわざ説明してくれてありがとうございました^_^

[@ToKiniAndy]

わざわざコメントしてくれてあざっす

[@Im-BAD-at-satire]

Seems like わざわざ is used in a sarcastic tone when saying thanks, there's a common myth that Japanese doesn't have sarcasm but that's far from the truth; this usage feels sarcastic, the Japanese has a different strategy when announcing something sarcastic and it seems like it's exactly that. For example, being way too polite, way more than necessary, can come across as a sarcastic remark.

[@fg8029]

I'm a Japanese in my 20s. There is absolutely nothing wrong with using わざわざ when expressing gratitude. This kind of survey is not helpful because phrases like this, which you can use either negatively or positively, give completely different impressions depending on how they are said and the situation.

[@ToKiniAndy]

Thank you for watching and for your comment. While I do see where your coming from, isn't that the point of surveys? It's impossible to be extremely precise with a survey like this, BUT the only reason we found it in the first place is because Yuki said she hates the word わざわざ and feels like it feels very negative. We then found many similar opinions, and finally this survey which I thought illustrated what others were saying. It seems like there are varying opinions on this point. As with any language, things are always changing, and different people feel different about it it seems. I'm just relaying what other native Japanese people have told me about this though. I have no opinion one way or the other.

[@miyakawaso]

Interesting but I would have liked a little more speculation on why the change, and what bad vibes it now has for young people.

[@vanessameow1902]

Fascinating lesson! As an aside, could I replace せっかく in that example sentence? What kind of nuance would that convey?

[@ToKiniAndy]

せっかく wouldn't quite work. せっかく implies that you think something is an opportunity that shouldn't be wasted. It would be a little odd to thank someone using it. ;-) Apologizing with it, on the other hand, might work.

[@tams805]

わざわざ教えていただいた！　😜

[@ToKiniAndy]

わざわざ、「わざわざ」を教えた。ｗｗ

[@SkyRocket159]

I know wazaaa

[@thalyyin3325]

I Lika japan