The concept of "inside: Uchi" and "outside: Soto" Part 1
"ウチ "と "ソト "の概念 その１
Inside: Uchi and outside: Soto are very important when studying honorific expressions. We use different expressions depending on whether the person we are talking to is close to us or not, and whether they are a superior or not.
For example, with my family, friends, and lovers, I use a casual way of speaking without using です・ます. This is called “Uchi”.
When I talk to people I meet for the first time or people I am not very close to, I use polite expressions. This is called “Soto.
When talking to people, Japanese people consider whether they are talking to someone in their home country or in the outside world.
When talking to people in “Soto”, we use honorific expressions.
Now let’s consider the case of a company. My close colleagues and I are “Uchi”.
For me, my boss and my less familiar colleagues are “Soto” because they speak politely.
So what if someone from another company enters the room? When someone from another company is present, your boss or a less familiar colleague who is from outside the company will become “Uchi,” and only the person from the other company will become “Soto.
For example, when you are on the phone with someone from outside your company, you would use a humble expression such as “（ウチでは目上でも）「部長の山田は外勤しております」.
It may be a little difficult, but please check ”Uchi and Soto” with your tutor next time.
Review of e-learning course
- Greetings. Let’s get started! | No.1
- Let’s master katakana! | No. 2
- Have you mastered numbers? | No. 3
- Use your calendar! | No. 4
- The key to studying | No. 5
- [Video] How Characters Work 1 | No. 6
- [Video] How Characters Work 2 | No. 7
- [Video] How Characters Work 3 | No. 8
- Recommended Textbooks | No. 9
- The secret to learning a language | No. 10
- [Video] Let’s understand Japanese sounds! 1 | No. 11
- [Q&A] Why do you say “I’m sorry” when you say “Thank you”? | No. 12
- [Video] Let’s understand Japanese sounds! 2 | No. 13
- [Video] Student testimonial | No. 14
- [Video] Japanese Form, nouns, verbs, adjectives | No. 15
- [Video] Mastering the Japanese postposition | No. 16
- Podcasts useful for learning Japanese | No. 17
- Let’s use a polite form | No. 18
- [Video] Mastering the Japanese Form 3 | No. 19
- Useful apps for learning Japanese | No. 20
- [Video] Japanese postposition | No. 21
- The list of verb conjugation | No. 22
- Popular Japanese manga | No. 23
- [Video] Mastering the Japanese Form 4 | No. 24
- Summary of plain and polite forms | No. 25
- Review video learning | No. 26
- Useful websites for learning Japanese | No. 27
- [Video] Have you learned the conjugation of verbs? | No. 28
- What are -u verbs? | No. 29
- [Video] About verb groups | No. 30
- What are -Ru verbs? | No. 31
- [Video] Do you know the rules for verb conjugation? | No. 32
- [Q&A] Why do pedestrians wait even when there is no car? | No. 33
- What are -Irregular verbs? | No. 34
- [Video] Scenes where verb conjugation is used | No. 35
- Youtube for learning Japanese | No. 36
- What are -I adjectives? | No. 37
- What are -Na adjectives? | No. 38
- Adjective conjugation tables | No. 39
- [Video] Basics of speaking | No. 40
- Challenge JLPT. Try it for free! | No. 41
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- Why “honorifics” play an important role? | No. 43
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