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Today's Phrase

Today’s Japanese Phrase ‘つまらないものですが’

Hello, today’s phrase in Japanese is ‘つまらないものですが (tsumaranaimono desuga)‘.

Let’s see how to use this phrase first.

[Example 1]

  上司(Boss):山田さん、京都旅行はどうでしたか?

               (Yamada-san, Kyōto ryokō wa dō deshitaka?)

        Hi, Mr. Yamada, how was your Kyoto trip?

 山田(Yamada):とても楽しかったです。

                     (totemo tanoshikatta desu。)

        I enjoyed myself a lot.

     上司:それはいいですね。

        (sore wa ii desune。)

        That’s great.

     山田:お土産があるんです。つまらないものですが、どうぞ

        (omiyage ga arun desutsumaranaimono desuga,  dōzo。)

        I’ve got a souvenir for you.

     上司:わあ、どうもありがとうございます。

        (wā dōmo arigatō gozaimasu。)

        Wow, thank you so much.

 

‘つまらないものですが (tsumaranai mono desu ga)’ is used when humbly offering someone a gift.  
It is something like “This gift is not something special but please take it if you like.”
(Instead of saying “This gift I brought from Kyoto is so much wonderful, you must like it”)

Let’s see another example

 

      [Example 2] birthday party at neighbor’s house

私(Me):こんにちは。今日はお招きありがとうございます。

     (konnichiwa. kyō wa omaneki arigatōgozaimasu.)

            Hello, thanks for inviting me today.

      隣人(Neighbor):いらっしゃい。どうぞ入ってください。まあ、それは何?大きな荷物ですね。

                           (irasshai. dōzo haitte kudasai. mā, sore wa nani? ōkina nimotsu desune.)

                          Welcome, please come in. Wow, what’s that? You have big baggage.

       私:ああそうだ、これは誕生日プレゼントです。つまらないものですが、どうぞ

                 (ā, sōda. kore wa tanjōbi purezento desu. tsumaranaimono desuga, dōzo.)

              Oh, this is a birthday present for you. 

     隣人:ええっ、どうもありがとうございます。

                (ē, dōmo arigatō gozaimasu.)

          Really? Thank you very much.

 

 

つまらないものですが(tumaranaimono desu ga) is one of “Humble language”.
You can try this phrase for your superior(s) and friends, not for your family member and your best/close friends.

 

 


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