Nihongo that we, Japanese (Native Nihongo speakers) don't use (so much) even though you learn - Part①

(If you want to read this article in Japanese, visit here: https://kbelno.blogspot.com/2021/08/part.html)

 1. Introduction

When we teach Japanese as a native speaker of Japanese, we sometimes find Nihongo that we don't use very often.

In this blog, I would like to write about such Japanese.

I'd like to thank all the Japanese language teachers who have helped me on Twitter. Thank you very much!

フィリピン人の日本語教師・学習者向けに「習うけど実は日本人が（あまり）使わない日本語」みたいなものをブログにまとめたいのですが、アイディアほしいです🙏

みん日で勉強してる人がほとんどなので、みん日からで勉強するものがいいな〜🤔

例えば「〇〇です。〜ですから。」とか

— 🇯🇵Ken : 日本語 / 英語教師 @フィリピン (日本一時帰国中）🇵🇭 (@kh678k) August 23, 2021

If I try to put all that kind of Nihongo together in one blog, it's going to be a big amount and I feel lazy writing also haha, I will write it separately as a series. This is the first article in this series.

Note: It's not that no one uses the Japanese I'm going to mention here at all. Of course, even if you do use it, we can still understand what you are trying to mean. What I'm going to write here is just a tendency, not a judgment on the Japanese language as a whole.

2. (Expressing the reason) ~ですから

Example sentence: ：きょうは子どもの誕生日ですから、早く帰ります。(『みんなの日本語初級Ⅰ』　Lesson9 Grammar 4）

In what kind of relationship do we say (use) this Japanese?

• Elder person than you, your boss 
• Person you have just met (a person you cannot call a friend yet)

In these situations, we, Japanese (native Japanese speakers) would say: 

きょうは子どもの誕生日なので、早く帰ります。

Personally, I have never said 〜ですから (I think).

3. (Expressing referring) 〜"と"言ってました。

This is a comment I received from Momoko san, and It reminded me of it.

話し言葉で、ですかね？
初級だと
〜「と」言っていました
〜「では」ありません、などなど？

このトピックに関してはこの本が参考になるかもです。
どうやって教える？じゃなくて「何を教える？」に特化して議論されてます👏 pic.twitter.com/hpkpTgfaTn

— ももこ🇨🇿@日本語教師×Podcast🎙 (@Momo_kyoto_cz) August 23, 2021

When we talk with students who learned Nihongo with Minna No Nihongo, we often hear 〇〇さんは、〜”と”言ってました」とか「〇〇さんは、〜する”と”聞きました」from students（「〜と言っていました」は『みんなの日本語初級Ⅱ』Lesson 33）.

We can hear it in the news or something, but we don't use it or hear it in everyday conversation.

Example sentence: ミラーさんは来週大阪へ出張する”と”言っていました。（『みんなの日本語初級Ⅱ」Lesson33 Grammar ４）

If we, native speakers of Japanese would be likely to say: 

ミラーさんは来週大阪へ出張する”って”言っていました。

The only time I use "˜と" instead of "って" is when I'm talking with a customer or in a situation where I have to be very polite. Even for superiors in a company where I work, I use "˜って" for my boss at work.

4. Summary

I think it's quite common that what you study and what you actually use are two different often.

For example, if you study English in Japan, you probably learned about the subjunctive past perfect. I work using English now, but I've never used it or heard of it.

In the case of learners of Japanese, when you finished studying Nihongo and started working, I think you could encounter many Nihongo that you have never learned from a class.

I hope it'd be helpful for you. I'll be writing more about Part 2, so stay tuned!

Thank you for reading to the end, 🙇️.