Teinei (丁寧), Limao (禮貌), and Kongson (恭遜): A Comparison of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean Concepts of Politeness

Abstract

In this era of globalization, there is increased contact among Japanese, Chinese, and Korean native speakers in East Asia. Despite their similar appearance, these speakers often behave differently due to different norms and values in communication. To avoid unnecessary conflicts in communication, it is important to understand the differences in how Japanese, Chinese, and Korean native speakers communicate. The norms and values of communication are often lexicalized in a language as ordinary concepts. In general, the primary concepts in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean are teinei (丁寧), limao (禮貌), and kongson (恭遜), respectively. These words are often regarded as synonymous because they all translate into English as “politeness.” However, teinei (丁寧), limao (禮貌), and kongson (恭遜) are fundamentally different. The aim of this paper is to reveal the differences in their meanings based on lexical explanations in contemporary dictionaries and the results of a questionnaire survey given to native speakers of each language. The results of this study may be applied not only to intercultural communication, but may also help improve the efficiency of foreign language teaching.

Keywords

Politeness / intercultural communication / teinei (丁寧) / limao (禮貌) / kongson (恭遜)

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