Tokyo Nugget #21: Circle versus tick
12 Mar
What I now accept in daily life was not quite what I was used to in the past — ’tis part and parcel of being an expat.
For example, to answer “Yes”, “Agree”, or “True” on Japanese related grammar workbooks, you have to put a circle, not a tick, in the box. You don’t circle anything, so you just pen a round line in the space provided. It took me awhile not to use ticks, to be honest.
It’s also called maru that means around or round or circle in Japanese.
“No”, “False” and “Disagree” are still a cross X.
But if you make an “X” with your fingers, you are calling for the bill in a restaurant in Japan.
Photo credit: here
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this is such an amazing tip! I would put X-es everywhere if you didn’t tell me about this!
hehe
and why does X with your fingers signify bill leh?
I don’t know why it’s like that…. It just is – lol! While we think it’s so different from the rest of the world, Japanese people think it’s natural and are always surprised to find the opposite in other cultures.