“Nanpa For Learning Japanese” is the title and theme of the post.
Recently i realised i needed to step up my Japanese learning and it was highlighted by a few people that conversation with the opposite sex is a great means to do that. This i already knew and it’s something i practice as often as possible but i knew i could do more.
Over several painstaking hours i crafted a letter to a girl in my building, we’ve passed each other several times and she’s always cheerful enough to see me but to date our exchanges have been brief to say the least.
I ran the first cut of my letter past my buddy JT who is a master of the Japanese language and also a dab hand with the ladies i might add.
Without rewriting the letter totally, JT gave me some grammatical instruction and helped me massage the message into a readable format which you can see below. Thanks man, I went the Hiragana option and removed any Kanji i didn`t understand.
Once printed off the letter was promptly put in an envelope ready for it’s delivery last night. After a few hours at the local karaoke bar i managed to snap off a picture of the actual drop.
I’m sure for the benefit of those that can’t read Japanese, the contents of the letter will be dissected in great detail in the comments including the mistakes it contains …. Happy to hear them too and any suggestions for improvement.
Let’s see how it goes in the coming days.
Update 31st December …… just bumped in to her …. and her Boyfriend, she didn`t see me though.
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I don’t usually like to get personal with girls in the same building where I live, but am looking forward to reading about your next encounter!
Same here, but after 18 months and with my intentions revolving around learning Japanese i’ve decided to test the waters.
what are the odds of her being an avid reader of your blog? ^^
ZERO Ken, thought about that prior to sending and also was a consideration with which email i put on the letter, e.g. not the main one that uses this domain name ….. other less experienced men would have tripped themselves up there.
well, that’s a close to the “girl living next door” chapter. ^^.
Very readable overall! Don’t think she had any problem reading it. Hope she won’t be scared of you.
That’s of course a concern … but we’ll see how it goes.
That’s really sweet – I’m looking forward to hearing about her response….
And any response will be considered a win. I’m 50 / 50 i’ll get one just because things are SOOO different here with this sort of thing.
Ha ha! Great idea. I hope this cooks up something good ^^
Don’t be put off if she doesn’t seem too comfortable at first or even if she blows you off completely – some people are more receptive than others. I’m sure you are aware of some of the differences between cultures though! As somebody mentioned above, tone down your scariness factor if you can – that’s the biggest thing against you. And make sure you don’t come across as actually doing Nanpa, as that’s sure to be shutdown by most girls ^^;
Good luck!
Frankly Neil, I’m quite sure she will reply, but you won’t be able to understand whetehr or not she was freaked out at all from her reply.
One thing I have noticed with Japanese girls is that they can quite easily say things completely opposite to what they actually think, just to be nice/polite to you. For example “I’m looking forward to seeing you!” when the case is the opposite…
Needless to say I learn’t it the hard way -_-
Thanks for yet another shoutout man. Was happy to take some time out from work yesterday for this “project” of yours.
Best of luck to ya! I think it’s a great idea. If she’s receptive you’ll have yourself a fine communication partner. Keep us posted.
Dude, you have more stones than I. Congratulations… Keep us posted.
nice work, keep all up to date please.
That took a lot of guts to do, Neil, considering you’re both living in the same building.
You might never see her again……
Good luck and let us know if anything happens!
From a personally delivered letter intercepted from Mr. Duckett’s mailbox:
ニールさん、
メッセージをありがとうございました。その言葉をニールさんが書いてくれて嬉しいです。でも、気になるところがあります。先週末の土曜の夜中にニールさんがセクシーな女性と帰って来たと私は見てしまいました。その女性は彼女ですか？ただの友達ですか？とても不安です。
では、ニールさんからの返事を待っています。宜しくお願いします。
XXXX
HAHAHA, on this occasion i have told you too much Will … very funny indeed, i’m SURE JT will get a snicker out of this when he reads it.
I *happened* to notice her mail box was empty this morning so the letter has been received … it’s a waiting game now.
My Japanese isn’t that great, Neil. Well, lets face it, its pretty much limited to “Su mi ma sen” in a restaurant, followed by pointing at a menu (in English) and then “oligato” but did you happen to mention you’ve got one that you could perch an emu on downstairs?
Motts
Hahaha, you’re right, your Japanese is terrible … i think you mean “Arigatou” by the way. There was no mention of who’s packing what either mate!
LOL! I did in fact get a nice little snicker out of the “intercepted” message. And would there be any truth to this, hmm?
100% truth my friend !
One thing’s for sure: Neil shouldn’t be coming home with other sexy ladies for the time being.
I will just have to practice my stealth entry and exit to the complex Mike
I think you should stick to English/limited Japanese/hand gestures.
Every guy she has ever been with probably spoke/wrote English just fine.
Your …this…is different and that is unique and interesting. Go with that. You can study Japanese with her after you catch her. In the meantime. Use the skillz you got now. be what you are.
I speak no Japanese and it has NEVER gotten in the way of me having a girl I want.
Just my 2 cents Neil.
Your advice is worth more than 2 cents Chris …. at least 2 bucks i`d say.
Will keep you posted on progress.
I meant to say “Spoke/wrote Japanese just fine”.
I can be a real headcase sometimes
!!
Good luck Neil. I hope it works. From your effort she will be yours for a while if this works. I am willing to bet that not too many gaijin men have written to her in her native language.
Cheers Ryan ….. no news yet …. not so sure she`ll respond, i think she`s pretty shy.
You may have to try a more direct method if she is too shy to respond. Although, I would give it a week or two before asking her out directly. Maybe coffee would be a good start.
The thing is i only really run in to her once every month at best …… for a fleeting few seconds. My actual intent behind the whole thing is that of language practice, meeting chicks with a view of dating is, as you know, pretty damn easy.
Hi neil,
I read through the letter; good job man
I think it is pretty well structured,subtle yet shows its intentions.
Its not basic nor is it advanced. Don’t doubt yourself thinking it looks dumbed down or something.
Hopefully she replies back to you soon. I’m cheering you on!!
I think…
Best scenario: She either writes back to you or visits you and asks you out for a meal or drink. Showing also that she does have a large interest in you. Such a conventional way of communication (letter) not only shows your sincerity, but what sort of mind frame you have.
letter= patience, taking things slow, gentle.
Average scenario: She feels a little awkward from the letter, yet understands that you’re a nice man with nice agendas, and hopefully a friendship/relationship will develop. Keep in mind she will be quite hesitant whether to reply or not.
Worst scenario: She has absolutely no interest in you, has a Boyfriend, has no interest in men or is very fearful perhaps of relationships. This may lead to awkward smiles or pass-bys the next time you see eachother.
Nevertheless, good luck man i really hope good things happen for you! ^^
I’m pretty much convinced i’ll be lucky to get a response, less than 50% chance. Looking forward to the next chance meeting in the lift or close vicinity of the building, should be interesting!
The thing is, chicks always think everything is a sexual approach, even though you spell out your intentions to the contrary, and let’s be honest, 99.9 percent of the time they’re right.
So she assumes you’re asking her out with a letter, which to a chick is a demonstration of low social value, even though I personally think that would be a cool nouveau vieux way to do it.
In my opinion, you could do a false-disqualifier directly to counter her first reaction, like going to her door to get a follow up to your letter (handling that kind of situation shows to chicks that one can handle pressure / high social value demo), and maybe explaining that she’s totally not your type (even if she is), to lower her bitch shield.
Best luck to you Neil anyways.
I’ll hold off on going to her door just so she doesn’t get totally freaked out but looking forward to seeing her in passing the next time ….. will hopefully get time for a chat.