Mr. Okada treated Mr. Lerner to dinner yesterday evening, saying that he wanted
Mr. Lerner to have a good meal after working so hard to help him. After dinner Mr. Lerner
thanked him by saying
Taihen gochisoosama deshita.
(Thank you very much for the delicious dinner)
Then Mr. Okada said
Instead or Iie, or Iie, doo itashimashite (No, you’re welcome). That made Mr. Lerner wonder
when tondemo nai should be used.
Tondemo nai means "Far from it," and is used as a strong denial, as in
I. A.) Omigoto dsu ne. (You’re good at it)
B.) Iie, tondemo nai. (No, not at all.)
II. A.) Kono kuruma, gojibun no desu ka.
B.) Tondemo nai. Konno ii kuruma, kaeru hazu ga arimasen yo
(No, how could it be? I could never purchase such a costly car.)
Iie is used most often in the usual exchanges of apologies and answers, and Iie, doo
itashimashite sounds more formal, as in
I. A.) Osoko natte sumimasen. (Sorry I’m late.)
B.) Iie. (Not at all.)
II. A.) Osoko narimashite, moshiwake gozaimasen.
(I am sorry to be so late - more formal.)
B.) Iie, doo itashimashite
(No, not at all - more formal.)
Tondemo nai sounds emphatic; it implies surprize. Mr. Okada, in the case mentioned
above, thought that he didn’t at all deserve Mr. Lerner’s gratitude, and chose tondemo nai rather
than iie.
Thus, tondemo nai is used when the speaker wants to strongly deny the other person’s
judgement or intention. Sometimes
Tondemo arimasen.
Tondemo gozaimasen.
Tondemo nai koto desu.
are used with the same meaning.
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