Can you provide examples of polite rebuttals in Japanese

Here are some examples of polite rebuttals in Japanese using formal, respectful language often involving keigo, which is the honorific or polite speech form:

• 申し訳ございませんが、そうではありません。
  Mōshiwake gozaimasen ga, sō dewa arimasen.
  (I’m terribly sorry, but that’s not the case.)

• 失礼ですが、それはちょっと違うと思います。
  Shitsurei desu ga, sore wa chotto chigau to omoimasu.
  (Excuse me, but I think that’s a little different.)

• おっしゃることは理解いたしますが、私の考えは異なります。
  Ossharu koto wa rikai itashimasu ga, watashi no kangae wa kotonarimasu.
  (I understand what you are saying, but my opinion is different.)

• 恐れ入りますが、その意見には賛成できかねます。
  Osore irimasu ga, sono iken ni wa sansei dekinikane masu.
  (I’m afraid I cannot agree with that opinion.)

• お言葉ですが、別の見方もあるかと存じます。
  Okotoba desu ga, betsu no mikata mo aru ka to zonjimasu.
  (With all due respect, there might be another perspective.)

These phrases use humble and polite expressions to gently disagree or provide a rebuttal without sounding confrontational. The use of 申し訳ございません (mōshiwake gozaimasen), 失礼ですが (shitsurei desu ga), and 恐れ入りますが (osore irimasu ga) are common softeners to maintain respect and politeness in conversation. Politeness and maintaining harmony are highly valued in Japanese communication, so such softened rebuttals are customary. ^{4, 11, 14}

References

• Student Voice in the Processof Creating Quality Schools

• “Aisatsu” in Japanese Language Education

• A Kinetic Approach to Understanding Communication and Context in Japanese

• Japanese Keigo: ‘Situational Context Analysis’ and ‘Politeness Strategies’ in Violet Evergarden Anime

• A corpus-assisted analysis of indexical signs for (im)politeness in Japanese apology-like behaviour

• Japanese Speech Acts and Politeness in Hospitality Services

• SELF INTRODUCING AND WORK ETHICS IN JAPANESE COMPANIES

• Backchannel as a Listener’s Consideration Behavior: Politeness Strategy of Japanese Native Speakers in Interaction

• Honorifics: A sociocultural verb agreement cue in Japanese sentence processing

• Japanese Idiom Learning through Cognitive Linguistics Concept (Idioms Presentation)

• Maintaining Language Politeness Through Learning Advice in Japanese

• First grammatical encoding of Japanese Politeness (17th century)

• Viewing Japanese People’s Cognitive Concept From Japanese Proverbs —— Taking “View of Nature” and “View of Emotion” as Examples

• A Study of Linguistic Politeness in Japanese

• Interlanguage Pragmatics Failure among Javanese Learners of Japanese

• Japanese Inviting Speech Act Strategy: From Gender Point of View

• Rural Easy Japanese as a Method of Mitigating Language Barriers Among Foreigners Seeking Medical Care in Rural Japan