Conversation flow
Idioms, Stage 3chunk 12 of 22Talking & listening
Moments inside a conversation: butting in, derailing, the subject walking in, awkward silence.
- kuchi o hasamubutt in, put in one's two cents (in talk or matters that aren't yours)literally “put one's mouth in between”
- uwasa o surebaspeak of the devilliterally “if you talk about (them)”
- hanashi no koshi o oruinterrupt and derail what someone is sayingliterally “break the waist of the talk”
- ma ga motanaican't fill the silence, run out of things to sayliterally “the pause can't be held up”
Mix-ups kuchi o hasamu (butt in) vs hanashi no koshi o oru (derail someone mid-story); ma ga motanai is running out of things to say, not interrupting.
kuchi o hasamu
polite kuchi o hasamimasu
“put one's mouth in between”
butt in, put in one's two cents (in talk or matters that aren't yours)
In English: butt in
Butting into other people's conversation or business, heard as kuchi hasamanaide (stay out of this) or the polite preface kuchi o hasamu you desu ga (sorry to cut in). kuchi o dasu is close but stronger, actively meddling; cutting someone off mid-sentence is hanashi no koshi o oru, and kuchi ni dasu is just saying something out loud.
ima daiji na hanashi da kara, kuchi hasamanaide.
This is important, so don't butt in.
今大事な話だから、口挟まないで。
ima daiji na hanashi na node, kuchi o hasamanaide kudasai.
We're discussing something important, so please don't interrupt.
今大事な話なので、口を挟まないでください。
Written 口を挟む · くちをはさむHeard 78× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside hanashi no koshi o oruMain list -naide (Stage 2), daiji (Stage 2)
uwasa o sureba
“if you talk about (them)”
speak of the devil
In English: speak of the devil
Said the moment the person you were talking about walks in or calls: a, uwasa o sureba! People clip the full saying uwasa o sureba kage ga sasu (talk of someone and their shadow appears).
Full saying: uwasa o sureba kage ga sasu.
a, uwasa o sureba kita yo.
Oh, speak of the devil, here he comes.
あ、噂をすれば来たよ。
a, uwasa o sureba kimashita ne.
Oh, speak of the devil, here he is.
あ、噂をすれば来ましたね。
Written 噂をすれば · うわさをすればHeard 31× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesMain list suru (Stage 1), -ba (Stage 2)
hanashi no koshi o oru
polite hanashi no koshi o orimasu
“break the waist of the talk”
interrupt and derail what someone is saying
Cutting in so the speaker loses their thread, as a complaint (hanashi no koshi oranaide) or an apology (hanashi no koshi o otte gomen). kuchi o hasamu is butting in with your own remark; this is derailing what someone was in the middle of saying.
Politely the talk becomes ohanashi, since it's the listener's; the stock preface is ohanashi no koshi o oru you desu ga...
chotto, hanashi no koshi oranaide yo.
Hey, don't cut me off.
ちょっと、話の腰折らないでよ。
ohanashi no koshi o oru you de sumimasen ga, hitotsu dake ii desu ka?
Sorry to interrupt, but could I just say one thing?
お話の腰を折るようですみませんが、一つだけいいですか？
Written 話の腰を折る · はなしのこしをおるHeard 2× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside kuchi o hasamuMain list -naide (Stage 2), chotto (Stage 1)
ma ga motanai
polite ma ga mochimasen
“the pause can't be held up”
can't fill the silence, run out of things to say
Said of a silence you can't fill: on a first date, in a lift with your boss, at a table where nobody talks. Usually about yourself or a situation, as futarikiri da to ma ga motanai (just the two of us, I run out of things to say). Also about killing time: sumaho ga nai to ma ga motanai.
futarikiri da to ma ga motanai n da yo ne.
When it's just the two of us, I run out of things to say.
二人きりだと間が持たないんだよね。
futarikiri da to ma ga motanai n desu yo ne.
When it's just the two of us, I never know how to fill the silence.
二人きりだと間が持たないんですよね。
Written 間が持たない · まがもたないHeard too rare in film subtitles to countMain list motsu (Stage 1), n da (Stage 1), -to (Stage 2)