It’s polite in the grammar sense. Japanese uses different verb endings depending on the level of politeness. Speaker A is using polite form while B uses casual form. This is normal when the speakers are not on the same social/hierarchical level. Like conversation between an employee and a boss, or a young person and an older person.
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idiomaddict@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Is this a polite conversation? I feel like it’s impolite to say that someone’s lying. It’s also impolite to lie (with a lot of caveats, but it’s at least impolite if it’s an obvious lie), so you don’t need to pretend to believe a person who’s trying to deceive you, but just accusing someone of lies without checking is rude.
SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world 2 months ago
ProfessorScience@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Also A is using polite sentence endings. 〜ます, 〜ました, and です.
Phoenix3875@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Although うそ literally means “it’s a lie”, it should have been translated to “Really?”
idiomaddict@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Thank you ! That’s why it’s important that the language textbook labels this as polite. When students ask about it, they’ll learn about either a linguistic or cultural difference that could make communication more difficult, if it’s not addressed.
ByteJunk@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Wouldn’t it even be more accurate to translate it as “You’re lying!?”. Not sure it would fit the “polite” tone, but then again, they’re about to be eaten by a tiger and/or a puma.
Phoenix3875@lemmy.world 2 months ago
You’re right. In practice it’s somewhat more casual, akin to “No way!”.
“I bought this bag of chips with half the price!” “うそ！”