# Sarcasm



## Ariander

Apologies for such a general question (and for my recent barrage of posts, heh)

I was just curious as to whether Japanese makes much use of sarcasm.  It seems very common and well understood in the US, but as I understand it, Japanese doesn't make as much use of tone of voice, so it might be hard to convey what you say as sarcasm unless it was very obvious.

Thank you 

(Personally, I wouldn't mind a lack of sarcasm in Japanese; I do not like it much at all    )


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## Eso

Well, I do know that it exists and it works in a similar manner to English sarcasm; for example, saying the opposite of what you mean in a rude tone.

However, I don't think it's used often. It really depends on the individual.
I'm curious to know if sarcasm was introduced by the Western world or if it was always there.


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## cheshire

皮肉屋、absolutely not Cheshire's opinion! said:
			
		

> 皮肉が西洋からほかの世界に伝えられたと考えているなんて、*すごく立派な学者さまですこと*！
> 
> 文化人類学でも言語学でも社会学でもなんでもいいから少し勉強すればそんな天才的な発想はおこらないでしょうね。


 
This is an example of sarcasm in Japanese, just to show an example of what it is like. It's not my opinion, nor is it my way of saying things, so don't take it bad.


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## I_like_my_TV

> Originally Posted by *皮肉屋*、absolutely not Cheshire's opinion!



Is "皮肉屋" another Japanese word for "butcher"? What is the difference between "皮肉屋" and "肉屋"? One sells skin and the other doesn't?


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## cheshire

"皮肉屋" is a shop selling bones, skin and flesh (ジョークだから信じないでね）　（皮肉屋は　a person who likes to say sarcasm)


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## I_like_my_TV

Cheshire said:
			
		

> "皮肉屋" is a shop selling bones, skin and flesh


I think you can make one of the best Japanese language teachers out there, Cheshire! 
（これを日本語に翻訳してくれませんか？皮肉の言い方にもなるかもしれません。 ）


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## cheshire

I_like_my_TV said:


> I think you can make one of the best Japanese language teachers out there, Cheshire!
> （これを日本語に翻訳してくれませんか？皮肉の言い方にもなるかもしれません。 ）


チェシャー、君は一番の日本語の先生になれるよ！(I think や　out there は強いて訳さなくてもよいと思います。）


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## MariposaChou

cheshire said:


> チェシャー、君は一番の日本語の先生になれるよ！(I think や　out there は強いて訳さなくてもよいと思います。）



This is a little off-topic I suppose, but is there any way to translate "out there", as in "this is the best book out there on such and such topic"?


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## cheshire

もし本がアメリカで売られていて、日本で発言されたのなら
「現地で、向こうで、アメリカで、米国で」などが考えられます。


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## I_like_my_TV

> もし本がアメリカで売られていて、日本で発言されたのなら
> 「現地で、向こうで、アメリカで、米国で」などが考えられます。


I don't think _"out there"_ in this context is about location. It's a colloquial way of saying _"in existence"._


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## cheshire

なら「世にいる...で」くらいかな。あまり訳す必要はないと思います。


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## Flaminius

One branch of irony that is seldom observed in Japanese is metaphorical irony (anyone who knows the exact term, please contribute).  By this make-shift term I mean something like, "Your visits are as welcome as the plague."


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