What does “zatsudan” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “zatsudan” to mean ‘small talk’, ‘idle talk’, or just ‘chat’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “zatsudan” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “zatsudan”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “zatsudan”.
- zatsudan – 雑談 (ざつだん) : a noun meaning ‘small talk’, ‘idle talk’, or just ‘chat’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
Native speakers use this noun to refer to a conversation which is not that important but necessary for their better communication.
The definition and meanings are simple and clear, I think. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
Zatsudan in kanji
The kanji expression of “zatsudan” consists of the following two characters:
- 雑 : a kanji character sometimes used as a prefix to add the meaning of ‘various’ or ‘miscellaneous’.
- 談 : a kanji character used to express the act of talking.
From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “zatsudan” literally means ‘various talks’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the meanings, but still very close, I think. Small talks, idle talks, and chats are basically talks about various topics.
When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about the meanings of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “zatsudan” through the detailed kanji check above.
Then, let me explain how to use “zatsudan” through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “small talks” in Japanese
watashi no musume wa zatsudan ga suki desu – 私の娘は雑談が好きです (わたしのむすめはざつだんがすきです)
My daughter likes small talks.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “watashi” to make its possessive case, “watashi no“, which means ‘my’ in Japanese.
- musume – 娘 (むすめ) : a noun meaning ‘daughter’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “watashi no musume” to make the subject in the sentence.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “zatsudan” to make the object in the sentence.
- suki – 好き (すき) : one conjugation of the na-adjective, “sukina”, which means ‘favorite’ in Japanese. Native speakers, however, often use this as an individual word to mean ‘to like’ or ‘to love’ in Japanese. In the example, actually, this is used to mean ‘to like’.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “suki” to make it sound polite.
This is a typical usage of “zatsudan”. When we want to say “small talks” in Japanese, this noun is a very good option.
Example #2: another usage of “zatsudan”
「zatsudan wa itsumo tanoshii」 to kanojo wa it ta – 「雑談はいつも楽しい」と彼女は言った (「ざつだんはいつもたのしい」とかのじょはいった)
“Chatting is always fun,” she said.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- itsumo – いつも : an adverb of frequency meaning ‘always’ in Japanese.
- tanoshii – 楽しい (たのしい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘funny’ or ‘fun’ in Japanese.
- to – と : a case particle working as a quote marker. In the example, this works after the clause to indicate what “kanojo” said.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- it – 言っ (いっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “iu”, which means ‘to say’, ‘to tell’, or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form. In the example, this is used after “it” to make its past tense form, “it ta”.
This is another typical usage of “zatsudan”. The original meaning of the Japanese clause is more like “chats are always fun”, but it has been translated as “chatting is always fun”. This sounds more natural in English, I think.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “zatsudan” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- zatsudan – 雑談 (ざつだん) : a noun meaning ‘small talk’, ‘idle talk’, or just ‘chat’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘various talks’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the meanings, but still very close, I think. Small talks, idle talks, and chats are basically talks about various topics.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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