Ever wondered how you say this commonly used phrase in Japanese?
I get asked how to say certain phrases in Japanese. And most of the time, the intended meaning would not translate word for word. That’s because languages work differently from one another.
One of the most common phrases I get asked is: how do you say “that’s what she said” in Japanese.
How to Say It
There are variations of saying “that’s what she said” in Japanese. Here are a few examples:
- それ、彼女も言ってたよ/sore, kanojyo mo itteta yo
- 彼女もそう言ってたよ/kanojyo mo sou itteta yo
- それが彼女の言ってたことです/sore ga kanojyo no itteta koto desu
I could go on, but you get the point.
While these are examples of how one would say “that’s what she said,” that is literally all that it means. The intended innuendo does not exactly translate. If you suddenly tried to say it in a Japanese conversation, your partner (if they are Native) would probably ask you who “she” is and why she too said the same thing.
Now that we know how to say it, let’s take a look at a similar innuendo in Japanese.
“That”
Yes. That. Or あれ/アレ or are.
The word for “that” in Japanese, can be used to imply whatever it is you’re saying without actually saying it. In text, writing it in katakana (a syllabary to denote loan words or to emphasize words) as opposed to hiragana (a syllabary used for standard form of writing) would help strengthen your statement.
It also works for other things besides just innuendoes. Let’s take a look at some examples:
Example 1:
A: ホットドッグが大きすぎて口に口に入らなかったよ/The hotdog was too big for me to fit into my mouth.
B: アレを口に入れたね/You sure did put “that” into your mouth
Example 2:
A: 彼、悪い人じゃないと思うけど、付き合うのはちょっとアレかなーと思う/I don’t think he’s a bad person, but associating with him would be a bit… like “that.”
So the above examples sound very stilted if left translated 1:1, but this is why we need localization. Anyhow…
In the first example, “that” is obviously referring to “that.” I won’t get too into it since I assume you know what comparisons you can draw from a hotdog.
In the second example, you kind of have to work out what the implication means. “That” here has a very negative connotation. Possibly that hanging out with said person would be a bad influence. Or simply that the speaker does not want to.
I hope you learned a thing or two from this post.