A Stranger Offers You a Half-Price Bar Upstairs. This Is the One You Walk Past.
To say I'm meeting someone in Japanese, say 待ち合わせです (machiawase desu).
A guy on the street says he knows a bar. Half price, right upstairs. This is the one invitation in Japan you turn down.
In this video
- 待ち合わせです。 machiawase desu. I'm meeting someone.
- すみません、待ち合わせです。 sumimasen, machiawase desu. Sorry, I'm meeting someone.
Kanji in this phrase
- 待ち合わせ
- まちあわせ
Why this phrase
A couple of nightlife blocks, Kabukicho, parts of Roppongi, have street touts pulling visitors into bars that hand over a bill with far too many digits. The Tokyo police post signs about it in English, because it targets tourists specifically. Everything around it is fine; this is one narrow exception. And 'no thanks' invites a follow-up. What ends it is a reason, not a refusal: you're already meeting someone.
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More phrases like this
- Your Train Left From the Other Side · Hantai-gawa desu
- You Picnicked on the Finish Line · Undōkai desu ka?
- The Taxi Hasn't Moved. · hatsunori
- You Landed With a Welcome Suica. The Gate Is Not the Place to Find Out. · Kore de noremasu ka?
- The Hotel Room Is Black. The Switch Is the Slot. · kādo o sashikonde kudasai
- POV: You Paid for a Ryokan. The Floor Is Empty. They Did Not Forget the Bed. · Futon o shiite kudasai
- POV: Security Opened Your Backpack. Those Konbini Snacks Are Not Coming In. · mochikomi kinshi
- POV: The Bus Drove Straight Past Your Hotel. The Button Over Your Head Was the Whole Game. · kōsha botan
- POV: The Ramen Guy Is Holding a Ladle of Garlic. He Is Waiting. · ninniku nashi de
- She Handed You the Thin One. Accounting Will Throw It Out. · ryōshūsho o onegai shimasu
- Immigration Wants a Square on Your Phone. The Paper Form Does Nothing. · nijigen kōdo
- The Vending Machine Just Rejected Your Only Bill. The Shop Next Door Can Fix It. · kuzushite itadakemasu ka?
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