2019/12/21

On Wednesday, December 11th, Professor Pon Fei of Faculty of Foreign Studies’ Department of Japanese Studies appeared on the KBS Kyoto’s live radio show “Sarapin! Kyoto”.

The show started with radio show host Mr. Takeo Moritani asking surprisingly, “you’re from China, but teaching Japanese in Japan?” The show continued to introduce Professor Pon’s personal history, strange Japanese phrases that foreigners wouldn’t understand, and words of Chinese origin.

Mr. Moritani and radio show staffs were especially surprised by the ambiguity of the word chotto, which means “a little,” “somewhat,” or “kind of,” depending on the context. A reflection of the Japanese spirit of caring to other’s needs or feelings, chotto is used in phrases like “I kind of don’t understand” or “That’s somewhat impossible.” With Professor Pon Fei, the show was like a mini lecture on the Japanese language.

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