Find English Teachers
Joe Townsend
How to explain the meaning of 'cheesy' (or 'corny') to Japanese friends?
When talking in English to Japanese friends, I sometimes use the word 'cheesy' to describe something, before forgetting that it's a word a lot of them don't know!
I find that it's really, really difficult to explain what it means using simple English, and I can never find a Japanese translation which quite captures the same feeling.
If there is anybody Japanese out there who understands the word, please provide one (or both!) of the following:
1) A close Japanese translation or translations
2) A sentence in Japanese that you would use to explain the concept to another Japanese person.
It's not really that important a word I guess, but this issue has been bugging me for a long time!
N.B. Some people might use the word 'corny' to mean the same thing!
Sep 28, 2014 4:01 PM
Answers · 4
1
Definitely 安っぽい in conversation, and 陳腐 (ちんぷ) in writing.
The literal meaning of 安っぽい is "cheap", but the word is applicable to many cases as follows.
あの映画は安っぽかった: The speaker is of course not talking about the budget of the movie but of the quality for some reasons.
あの人は安っぽい: Maybe he is too shallow, or showy-offy, or just dumb.
September 29, 2014
I think this online dicctionary / translator is better than the google one and has some examples. However, since it's for Japanese people, it seems sentences are difficult with kanji. Please take a look at this site. http://ejje.weblio.jp
September 28, 2014
It depends on the context, it would be translated as 安っぽい[やすっぽい]、古くさい[ふるくさい]、つまらない、うそっぽい, etc. All means something negative, as you know, but in Japanese, there are small defferences between each word.
September 28, 2014
I forgot to clarify: I'm obviously not talking about 'cheesy' as in 'tastes like cheese'! I'm talking about 'cheesy' in the context of cheesy music, cheesy films, cheesy phrases, etc. :)
September 28, 2014
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!
Joe Townsend
Language Skills
English, Japanese
Learning Language
Japanese
Articles You May Also Like

Speak More Fluently with This Simple Technique
9 likes · 2 Comments

How to Read and Understand a Business Contract in English
16 likes · 3 Comments

6 Ways italki Can Help You Succeed in Your School Language Classes
12 likes · 7 Comments
More articles