チャラい (charai) is an example of what's called a cultural keyword in linguistics. Although we can approximate a cultural keyword in other languages (other than the word’s language of origin), it can't be directly and completely translated. In English, we might call charai the quality of being flashy, or being like a player, or being a superficial social butterfly—but nothing quite contains the conceptual boundaries of charai, other than charai. You must know it to fully comprehend it, and knowing it will help you learn Japanese and be more native-like.
For Japanese people, charai is a personality type, it is a look, and it is a type of behavior (and an -i adjective, if we’re counting). In America, as in all countries, we have stereotypical conceptions of certain types of people. In California, “the surfer guy” speaks slowly, has bleach blonde hair, pronounces words in a certain way, and is generally chilled out. Someone who is “emo” may wear darker clothing, have their dyed-black hair covering their eyes, listen to sad, sappy music, and get emotional easily. The more recent “influencer” type may be good looking, always wear the trendiest clothing and accessories, continuously stop for selfies, speak in a hyper-trendy way, and appear sad and lonely in the absence of adulation.
We see these “types” appear in our stories and in our media, from Netflix dramas to corporate advertisements. They embed themselves in culture, and a reinforcing loop develops, essentially creating the caricature that then becomes the type: a fast-talking, rude, but sharply dressed New York finance type; a frat bro, popped collar, backwards baseball hat, good looks, but a vacuous way of talking that revolves around beer, sports, and girls.
Charai is as much a “type” to Japanese people as any of the above are “types” to an American. It is a certain hairstyle—often dyed hair—specific clothing with flashy designs, colors, and styles. Charai people wear lots of accessories. They are often socially skilled and good at talking, but can come across shallow, superficial, and insincere. Someone who is charai in the dating context might be moving too fast, looking for a fling rather than a partner. With romance, charai’s connection to superficiality and levity means that if someone suspects their date to be charai, they worry that they, too, will be taken lightly, superficially, and unseriously. That, combined with a charai person’s high degree of social skill and (often) skillfulness with the opposite sex, makes them a little like the “player” type in American culture.
But charai is broader than that. It does not have to be connected to romance and dating, and it can be a good thing. Often, those who are charai are good communicators with a high degree of social skill. They get along well with people and make people feel good. But this sort of behavior—one of light and skillful social interaction—does contrast with some old-fashioned images of the ideal Japanese person, who is dutiful and diligent, polite and humble, soft spoken and measured in words. Charai people are energetic, outgoing, talkative, and garrulous. They aren’t afraid of putting their energy into the public space, and they don’t mind being flashy in style or in conversation. This conflict, between the ideal Japanese “type” and the “type” that is charai, may be some of the source of charai’s negative connotation.
When studying Japanese, knowledge of cultural keywords, especially those that apply to a social context, offers a tremendous shortcut to fluency. By knowing the word charai, you have to know Japanese culture, and culture is one of the most important parts of learning a language. A people’s system of values and way of thinking are bound to their language. If you can use their cultural keywords, you can understand them, connect with them, and learn their language faster. You will also act and sound more native-like.
At GoGen Languages, we focus on culture just as much as we focus on linguistics. Language and culture are inseparable. For that reason, we teach natural, native Japanese that you hear on the streets of Tokyo, in a Shinjuku bar, or in a Shibuya Izakaya. We do not teach textbook or language-school Japanese, which can confuse natives and even create emotional distance, which will slow down your learning.
Our course, Romance and Dating in Japanese, teaches you words like charai. It teaches you other cultural words like kokuhaku. If you understand the way a society thinks—its culture—you will, without any doubt, learn their language faster. Not only that, but you will learn it better and you will retain it. Language without culture is like a tree without roots. To switch metaphors, culture is what is beneath the tip of the iceberg. Words are only the surface representation of millions of hours of human growth, development, and interaction. Brains functioning in a giant human neural network known as mankind.
Charai is one such structure with deep, deep cultural roots. Its iceberg goes into deep waters, you could say.
Connecting via cultural keywords
Using a cultural keyword like charai accurately and appropriately in conversation with Japanese native speakers will instantly connect you to the core of their culture, which in turn instantly connects you to them. Intimate relationships (and this time, I do not mean only romantic), are the basis for language learning. Why is “mother tongue” called “mother tongue”? Your first and most powerfully intimate relationship is with your mother. Intimate connections—intimate relationships—are the basis for language learning, as evidenced with most every human who ever learned a language (some did not). The ability to create and foster intimacy with native speakers of your target language is essential to learning and attaining fluency. Knowing cultural keywords is a shortcut to creating closer connections with natives.
The moment that you use a native’s cultural keyword, you seem less like a foreigner with an accent and more like someone from their world. You can see these kinds of connections taking place in your own culture when you meet someone who is from your hometown or who went to your high school, but in a situation where you weren’t expecting to find someone with such a commonality. It’s like a warm draft of air on a cold winter night. All of a sudden, just by the exchange of a word or two, you feel closer and more connected to that person. It’s the magic of rapport.
Can you image what happens when you accurately and repeatedly use multiple cultural keywords in close succession with a native speaker? You begin to seem like a native yourself. Slowly the foreigner fog begins to clear, and they begin to look at you like someone from their tribe, which, by extension, is their family.
I’m not saying they’ll think you’re their brother or their mother. But anyone who has lived in a foreign country and fully immersed themself in a foreign language can tell you the relief they feel when meeting someone who knows anything of their home country. It’s even more of a relief when they can speak some of your language. And it’s far more of a relief when they understand elements of your culture.
This happens in reverse when you are a foreigner in a native speaker’s country and can connect with them like a native speaker does. It’s a powerful experience to bridge the linguistic-cultural divide when you least expected to.
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