Host Family

6 comments

1. I’m sure they’ll understand if you can’t eat much

2. Do you know any Japanese? (/gen q) I would say

   “(Host family)さんは私に料理を作ってくれました。ありがとう。”

   “You cooked for me, thank you.”

   “(host family)さんが作った料理は、とても美味しいですが、おなかがいっぱですから食べられません。すみません。”

   “The food (host family) made is delicious, but my stomach is full, so I can not eat. I’m sorry.”

   Please forgive me, as my japanese is still very novice. Someone else may be able to tell you something better than this!

   By the way, I’m sure they’re just trying to show their hospitality 🙂 I’m not sure if it’s totally the same in Japan, but in a few asian cultures, it’s common to feed guests until they can not eat anymore. (Source: am Asian, lol.)

   Edit: grammar
   Edit 2: asked a japanese friend, it is considered rude not to finish your food. However, they wouldn’t want you to force yourself.

   私の食欲は少し小さいのでもう食べられません。
   My appetite is a little small, so I can’t eat anymore.

3. you could say something like お腹がいっぱいなんでもう食べれないんです (おなかがいっぱいなんでもうたべれないんです). it’s something like “I’m full so I cant really eat any more.” you could say 作ってくれた料理美味しいけど before if you want to explain that the food they made for you is good

4. As they are serving your food, you can politely stop them and say something like “sore wa kekko desu” (meaning “that is adequate” or “that is enough”)

   When I was an exchange student over there (in Yatomi town, just outside Nagoya), I didn’t really know much Japanese so I had to kind of get creative with how I phrased things.
   Most people are pretty forgiving when you do that, and they will work with you to figure out what you are trying to communicate.

   Tangent alert: I remember the one day in second class, Ishibashi got really sick, threw up and had to go home. At lunch break, the other students were asking me where Ishibashi was and I didn’t know the word for “sick” at the time so I just said “Uhhhhh… kare no tabemono ha gyaku ni ikimashita” (“his food went in reverse” or “his food travelled backwards”)
   They thought it was hilarious but they understood what I meant.

   Anyway, what I am getting at is: you don’t need to necessarily find the perfect phrase to let them know what’s going on with you. Most host families are aware that there are language barriers and cultural differences so they aren’t likely to take offence to anything you say, unless you are actively trying to be rude.

   So you could say something like “Onaka ga chiisai” (my stomach is small) or if you want to make sure you aren’t insulting them, “tabemono ha honto ni oishisoo kedo onaka ha chiisai” (the food really does look delicious, but my stomach is small)

   PS. Sorry for the romaji; I don’t have the Japanese IME installed on my work computer.

5. I was raised up not to leave anything, but I physically couldn’t eat much, so I learned to adjust the portion before Itadakimasu (beginning of the meal). Very short expression for this is 「すみません、わたし少食(しょうしょく)なんです」 meaning “I’m sorry, but I can’t eat much.” Person like you, a slow eater or someone with low appetite in general, or both uses this expression very commonly. We use this phrase for exactly your purpose: To let people know that you are unable to finish not because the food is not great, but because you’re physically unable to finish them, to avoid possibility of being rude.

6. I found that eating slowly would _help_ in these situations. If you eat too fast they fill up your plate again. If you can pace your eating to finish _after_ everyone else, then they won’t (or at least less likely to) try to give you more.