What makes Japanese men run a mile?
You may remember last month I published a survey on what makes Japanese women run a mile, so now it’s time to look with goo Ranking at what female actions make men run a mile at drinking parties.
Demographics
Between the 21st and 24th of December 2007 1,094 members of the goo Research monitor panel completed a private online questionnaire. 45.6% of the sample was male, 8.8% were in their teens, 15.6% in their twenties, 29.1% in their thirties, 26.8% in their forties, 10.7% in their fifties, and 9.0% aged sixty or older. Obviously only the male 45.6%, or 499 people, answered this particular question. Note that the score in the results refers to the relative number of votes for each option, not a percentage of the total sample.
The most obvious difference between this and the previous survey is groping! It was the top hate for women, but the bottom one for men. Another notable exception from the men’s list is the number 7 from the women’s list, pestering someone for their phone number! My top two would have to be smoking and poor table manners.
Ranking results
Q: What female behaviour at drinking parties makes you want to run a mile? (Sample size=499)
Rank Action Score 1 Checking her mobile phone frequently 100 2 Ill-mannered way of eating or drinking 94.7 3 Boastful talk 91.3 4 Smoking beside me 85.4 5 Not giving much of a response when talked to 76.2 6 Only talking with other females 67.0 7 Inconsiderate 64.1 8 Talking only about her boyfriend 64.1 9 Demanding to see my party-piece 59.7 10 Speaking to just one male 55.3 11 Asking to pay “ladies’ rate” 54.4 12 Whinging 49.5 13 Wanting to control the party 40.3 14 Trying to be the centre of attention 39.3 15 Only talking about her friends 37.9 16 Telling unfunny jokes 37.4 17 Offering alcohol despite me refusing 35.4 18 Even though first meeting, calling me by my first name 34.0 19 Grilling me on private matters 30.1 20 Touching my body 28.2
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Deas said,
January 21, 2008 @ 10:02
Word. Ha ha ha.
Turner said,
January 21, 2008 @ 11:44
Men can reject women?
Mike said,
January 21, 2008 @ 15:02
Interesting as always.. below are some translation suggestions, after looking at the original Japanese
BIG DIFFERENCE
#5 Not giving much of a response when talked to
#7 Not being attentive to others needs, inconsiderate
#9 Demanding (or requesting) a display of skill (juggling? jokes? wiggling ears? who knows)
SMALL DIFFERENCE
#8 Talking about her boyfriend
#12 Complaining
Ken Y-N said,
January 21, 2008 @ 15:59
Hi Mike, yes, #5 is a better translation - I knew my wording was pretty bad! For #7, I’d say tactlessness is a synonym of inconsiderate. #9 is a cut-and-paste error from the last survey! I think at a 合コン the guys are supposed to do their party pieces. #8 is that I tend to translate 恋人 as lover, and #12 is another synonym. Thanks for the suggestions regardless!
Mike (from the USA) said,
January 22, 2008 @ 08:18
Ken, I appreciate your translations but I’d have to go with the other Mike on this one. To me, tactless usually means “revealing lack of perceptiveness or judgment or finesse; boorish” so inconsiderate makes a bit more sense. Secondly, maybe this is an American thing, but I’ve only ever seen the word “whinging” used on a UK message board. Is this a British term equivalent to whining? It will be unfamiliar to most Americans. Finally, I have no idea what a “party piece” is thus I found (the other) Mike’s translation to be more enlightening. Haha, sorry to be so picky!
Ken Y-N said,
January 22, 2008 @ 08:49
Mike (from the USA), thanks for your feedback too. For tactlessness/inconsiderate, I suppose without knowing the exact details of how and why people chose that option, it’s difficult to say which is better.
“Whinging” - I don’t just teach people Japanese (hopefully), I also try British English! Perhaps “party piece” is another Britishness?
Mike said,
January 22, 2008 @ 10:17
Thanks Mike from USA
We Mike’s gotta stick together! （笑） I’m from the USA too (from PA and then Seattle, though I’ve been living in Japan long enough for my English to erode a bit. Yeah, Ken does such a great job here that I didn’t want to overly defend my translation. I think the British/US English difference is a big part. But, although inconsiderate and tactless have an area of meaning where they overlap (like a venn diagram) Looking at the Japanese, Ki ga kikanai, it seems to lack the sense of ‘tactless’. It would be the sense of when the girl forgets (or never notices, or cares enough to notice) to pour the guy a beer (those living in Japan will know how important that is), or otherwise look out for his needs. I think of tactless, as more of a momentary rudeness, like saying ‘hey, you look fatter than before. ” (or) Guessing someone age and being overly accurate or God forbid, saying a number that is too high! Yeah, I never hear whinging either, but the online dictionary said…
It made me think of some kind of decoration at a party at first (which is why I ended up looking at the Japanese in the first place, to figure out what the heck it meant.
whinged, whing·ing, whing·es Chiefly British
To complain or protest, especially in an annoying or persistent manner.
Which, again is a nuance thing, but the ‘protest’ part didn’t fit my sense of the Japanese Guchi o Iu. But I’m a Yank, so I’m just going to have to trust Ken on this one! Same goes with party piece.. Never heard it before, but I’m willing to add new words to my vocab
online dictionary to the rescue。。。
someone’s party piece (British)
something funny or strange that someone often does to entertain other people in social situations. Chris can wiggle his ears - it’s his party piece.
Ok, there you go, it is a perfect translation. Wiggling ears must be my party piece..(^_-)-☆ Lastly, about lovers, I felt that this had an illicit feel to it, especially using the plural, when it is likely that she is talking about just one boyfriend (even if the truth be different) at least in front of guys (unless, maybe she is really tactless!)
Ken, love what you are doing here!! Thanks!
toratora said,
January 22, 2008 @ 12:16
id agree…party piece sounded a bit sexual at first to me too….but with mikes translation I’m on the know now….
Drew said,
January 22, 2008 @ 14:46
“Party Piece” would usually be called the “party trick” in American English, I think. Or at least in Canadian English.
I have found that since I moved to Japan, British words and phrases have been infiltrating my English, as a disproportionate number of English speakers that I know are speakers of British English…
Ken Y-N said,
January 24, 2008 @ 22:28
OK, OK, both Mikes! You have convinced me that “tactless” is wrong, so I’ll switch to “inconsiderate”, thanks!
However, I’m NOT budging on whinging!
Survey: Chinese Manners : Japan Probe said,
February 12, 2008 @ 17:46
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