Atsui ne syndrome

27 comments

1. [deleted]

2. 暑いわー

3. “Atsui ne” is just a subset of a more general phenomenon… oishii ne, samui ne, sugoi ne…

4. I think people like to make a big deal about small things. I’m from the US Midwest. It is very normal for people to talk about the weather in casual conversation. It is normal for humans to try to connect with other people. Not worth stressing about.

5. What about more variations ?

   地獄の暑さね

   酷暑ね

   煮て いますね

   。。。

   Be innovative

6. To give you a semi-serious opinion: it’s not just “atsui ne” and “samui ne” over and over that can be frustrating; it’s how some people here verbalize every single thought that floats through their heads.

   As non-natives of the language, it costs a little bit of energy to process everything we hear, so it can be tiring to be around these people, who impose a constant low-level drain on our mental energy all day long by verbalizing things that are obvious.

   When I get frustrated by “atsui ne”, I like to think back to the experiment I once read about: centuries ago before the invention of mercury thermometers, supposedly one idea a Japanese scientist had was to put people in a room and count the number of spontaneous verbalizations about the heat or cold. “One-point-three *atsui-ne* per person per minute out there; it’s gonna be a scorcher!”

7. My take is: people don’t say it necessarily more in Japan than in other places. No more than hearing “fait chaud” in France for instance. Just that for the average non native speaker, it is easy to recognize and thus feels repetitive.

8. Similarly, I (Australian) read a book long ago that was set in Aus, and in it they poked fun at how much people say “Hot ’nuff for ya?”, and since then I haven’t been able to unhear it. I don’t see any problem with people saying atsui ne so much; it’s kinda funny to poke fun at it, and because it is, indeed, atsui ne

9. [deleted]

10. Depending on who I’m around, I may say 今日クソ暑くねぇ？

11. >So, I need your opinion on how can we get out from under this Atsui ne syndrome and reduce the number of “atsui ne” in Japan?

    Well, the problem solves itself in winter, it becomes “samui ne”.

12. I think people talk about the weather all the time in every country. I would guess that the reason people remark on the ‘atsui’ is because it’s so surface level and obvious. (I would imagine because unlike English, there is more subtext going on).

    In the UK you’d maybe be a bit more descriptive or colourful in your phrasing. like;

    “I’m sweating my arse off today” or

    “It’s like an oven out there” (inject any fucks you like into that)

    “I’m bloody dying today” or even

    “Bit chilly today” (when it’s been 35 degrees all week and the temperature dips)

    A bit more interesting than “its hot”.

13. In America, people speak about the weather but I think people mix up the variations from time to time like “its so hot,” “the weather is brutal,” “i’m melting,” “fuck me, its hot” and so on.

    I feel in Japanese, its only “atsui” or “atsui ne” over and over.

14. Wait until it’s winter and there will be “samui ne” everywhere.

15. Nah man don’t worry about it and don’t become self-conscious. It is what it is.

    Majority of foreigners (especially here) can’t speak or understand Japanese outside a few phrases so ‘atsui ne’ stands out to them

16. I think it stands out to English speakers because in English you could reasonably hear,

    – IT’S SO F*CKING HOT!
    – It’s really hot today, huh?
    – I’m melting!
    – and many more slightly different ways to say the same thing.

    But in Japanese, 99% of the time it’s going to be exactly 「暑いですね」

17. Why stop it? It’s a great way to interact with strangers around you. That’s one aspect of Japanese culture I like very much, you can share the same feeling with someone you never spoke to so easily – The feeling is great and makes me feel part of something.

18. I don’t like it because it’s one of several generic set phrases people seem to utter when they have nothing else to say? Plus, I get annoyed easily when hearing obvious statements over and over again.

    Anyway, no amount of “atsui ne” leads to anyone actually doing anything about it long term, like making more green spaces or better insulation in buildings. The “atsui/samui ne” industry can’t have that happening and risk losing a vital conversation starter/ender.

19. I think the reason why atsui ne is so often referenced is that it’s 90% what people say when it’s hot. In English there are dozens of ways to express this, so it’s not as noticeable. But in the end people talk about the weather as often in Japan vs western countries.
    So it’s no big deal at all, just one of these quirky things foreigners notice, and poke fun at.

20. Japanese is kind of the worlds best language for stating the obvious..

21. People here complain about little shit because their lives are even shittier. They don’t represent all gaijin. I’m from Michigan where it’s cold for a good part of the year. You better believe half my conversations started with, “fuck it’s cold.”

22. It’s not just Japanese in Japan who do this kind of thing. People all over the world do it. It’s just another idiosyncrasy of humans.

23. Spoken Japanese does tend to stick to “atsui ne” and its variations such as the young energetic “アッツ！”, kinda complaining “あっちっち”, my personal favorite babyish and internet slang-influenced “あじゅい”, and last but not least, conversation lifeline “あついよね”. With that being said, written Japanese has so many hot weather-related greetings and salutations. My simple Google search for “夏季節の挨拶” has this top result page which lists 59 different greetings for summer season.
    But yeah, atsui ne.

24. My wife updates me on her hot/cold condition 5 to 7 timed an hour. She will repeat 暑い/ 寒い over and over until I give an appropriate response. I find it extremely cute

25. There are two types of people who complain about “atsui ne”

    People who are joking

    And assholes.

26. So many have already replied but it’s a combination of a few things.

    1. It feels like the person is obliviously stating the obvious, as if you hadn’t noticed it’s hot. Feels like 42° and we’re both as sweaty as stuck pigs? 暑いね. Like yeah no shit it’s hot, thanks for reminding me how miserable it is.

    2. It’s almost always *just* 暑いね and nothing else. My in-laws often tell me I’m very imaginative lol because I’ll say something like こんな暑さでまるで溶けている雪だるまみたいに汗をかいてる instead of just a plain ol 暑いね. Japanese tends to be a “say more with less, say less with more” kind of language so I’m sure my in-laws think it’s weird but cool I’d be so descriptive of how hot I’m feeling.

    3. Small talk is one thing, but if you’re with a good friend or your partner or something, 暑いね just kinda feels like the bare minimum of effort to put in a conversation—personally to me, it might even feel a *tiny* bit rude depending on how close I am to the person. Like, we know each other well; are you deliberately avoiding a real conversation? Something like that.

    ってのアメリカ人としての印象だな

27. Ha, this post had me laughing.

    It’s funny how those people love to think that the Japanese people are xenophobic while making fun of or getting offended by everything that locals say or do