Japanese Phrases
Chotto: the Sentence You Never Finish
Iie is rare in real refusals. Chotto, muzukashii and a trailing pause do the work. How to decline clearly and how to hear a no aimed at you.
Japan Know How archive
indirect refusal
Japanese Phrases
The Pause Americans Rush to Fill
A three-second gap in a Japanese conversation is an answer, not a failure. Where silence carries refusal, respect or thought, and when to just wait.