Learning Japanese makes your Japanese girlfriend feel loved and valued
Yesterday, I was asked what my preferred Japanese language textbook is by one of our Japanese female members. I used to be a Japanese language teacher and I taught Japanese to many foreign students who wanted to enter universities in Japan. So I know what might be a good textbook for beginners.
She is in an exclusive relationship with one of our male members and they have started exchanging language lessons. I can tell she is very happy about it.
Why is she happy?. Is it because he will be able to communicate with her in her language.
No, it isn’t. To be honest, I don’t think she is expecting him to speak Japanese. Our Japanese female members are not expecting you to speak Japanese either. So relax.
But our Japanese female members will definitely be happy if you start learning Japanese.
It is because she will see you trying to make an effort to communicate and meet her half way. And that’s enough for them to feel loved and valued.
Learning Japanese helps you understand your Japanese girlfriend’s pain
OzMatch has two communities for executive members. One is for male members and is called the Bachelor Club. The other is for female members and called I Do Crew ( they want to say “I Do” one day).
OzMatch organises an online meetup once a month for each community and this month’s male members meetup should already be prepared but it hasn’t been yet.
It is because we didn’t have much interaction at the last month’s meetup and I felt it was all my fault.
When I speak English, I often feel powerless. I feel I can’t use my abilities.
Some Australian friends still don’t know how funny I am. I tend to be quiet in Australian groups because I feel powerless, then I feel isolated, then I feel foolish.
And that will be exactly what your future girlfriend/partner feels when they start living in Australia, being with your friends, being with your family.
So how can you help her?
You can’t change or stop how she feels. But you will understand how stressful it would be if you have any experiences of learning foreign languages.
Your Japanese girlfriend needs to feel that you understand her stress and pain. And if you can say “Daijobu Daijobu’ (it’s going to be ok), it will heal her feelings.
Your Japanese words will make your relationship with your Japanese girlfriend smoother
My husband is Australian. He is smart, he knows so many things but he knows only a few Japanese words. And amazingly those few Japanese words have been making our daily life smooth and fun.
He picked up his first Japanese while we were in Japan. It was “Ibatteru”
It means you are bossy.
I have no idea why he needed it. I am very modest, loyal, gentle, mature etc. He should never need to use Ibatteru for his wife.
But surprisingly he uses it when he is with me ( I still don’t understand why) and that makes me laugh. He uses it at the right time with his imperfect pronunciation. It puts a smile on my face.
I’m sure that your Japanese will put a smile on your Japanese girlfriend’s/partner’s face and it will make your relationship with her smoother. So keep learning Japanese.