Q. In America, what kind of topics do people avoid? And what can one do when such subjects arise? Answer: In America it is not polite to ask questions about how much others earn or how much they paid for something. It is all right to ask general questions such as, “How much are homes […]
Q. What do I do to apologize? Answer: Japanese etiquette holds that one should apologize by saying the equivalent of “I’m very sorry.†But a proper American apology requires something more: a statement of exactly what one is sorry for and often an explanation for why one acted that way. For example, if you are […]
Q. Doesn’t dÅzo mean “please”? Answer: “Please†is not always used in the same way as the Japanese word dÅzo. First of all, we usually do not use “please†by itself. When you are offering a person a seat, you do not say “Please, please.†Instead you say, “Please have a seat,†or “Please sit […]
