和訳おねがいします
After seven months, niy Japanese had not improved. In fact I didn't study the language at nil. Hut I hnd
beoomo very good at wiving, 'Thank you." I had also tnado lots of friends. One owning 1 was BtaiuLng with ono
of them, Koji, at Shinjuku Station. We were supposed to meet his girlfriend and go drinking. Sho wns a little late
We were talking about. women always being late when, suddenly, a young man oame running up without looking.
He ran into my friond and knocked poor Koji down to the floor, Koji looked very angry. The man stopped and
said, "Domo domo... blah blah." I could not understand the rest but I think it was something like "Thank you,
thaak you. I wasn't looking." Koji didn't look angry any more. He stood up and said something in Japanese.
The other man bowed two or three times and left.
This is a veiy happy country, I thought. Even if someone is very angry, no one ever fights. Just say, "Thank
you," and everything is solved. It reminded me of Carnival time in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There too, everybody is
happy. Even if you get angｒy, the noise and the music make you forget about it very soon. Here in Japan that
music seemed to be *Thank you."
I explained my ideas about domo to Koji. He could not stop laughing. At last ho said, "There are many
different doings. One for each occasion. Indeed, it seldom means thank you." I discovered the great mistake I
had been making. The domos I translated as 'Thank you" weren't always tho same domo. Most people must
have thought that I was a very atrange person, saying, 'Thank you" whenever I opened my mouth.
お礼
ありがとうございます！ すごくよくわかりました！