The Nuances of 残念

Japanese
#1

So, this is one of Bunpro’s sample sentences for the vocab 残念:

母から「祖父が亡くなった」と聞いて残念です。

This feels really off to me because the this sample sentence feels like something that should have a lot of emotional weight behind it, but the use of 残念 to me indicates something more inconsequential. I kind of associate it with “That’s a shame” In British English.

Is my understanding of the word off? Is this use of the word normal/natural sounding? If it is, can someone explain to me how to better understand when using 残念 is appropriate?

#2

I looked up 残念 in 大辞林. One of the definitions being: 満足できなくて心残りがする。So I in turn also looked up 満足 and found this definition: 望みが達せられて不平のないこと。

So I understand and infer this as basically there’s feelings of regret when hearing this news, possibly stemming from an unfullfilled desire / a wish one had regarding the relationship with the father. Like maybe wanting to improve the relationship or get closer to the father, but now that opportunity is gone forever. That makes sense in the context of the passing of a family member, right?

Ending with the caveat that this is just my interpretation of the Japanese definitions. If anyone more fluent notices any error, please feel free to correct me.

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#3

As with many words and phrases in Japanese, “残念” is one of those words that doesn’t always have a direct English translation.

In certain contexts, “残念” could mean “That’s a shame” or something similar. But there are also times where it carries more emotional weight. Your assumption that it “indicates something more inconsequential” isn’t necessarily accurate.

I think the usage of “残念” in the example sentence is appropriate and something you would likely hear a native speaker say in that context.

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#4

I concur.

I think it’s important to remember that in polite/formal speech, it often feels quite cold/detached. While in the example sentence 「残念」seems very detached from the emotions one would feel being told your grandfather has passed away, there are many times where overly expressing your own feeling may be (or feel like) a burden on someone else.
While in a lot of popular Japanese media, 「ザンネ～ン」is often used as a playful denial of someone’s expectations, it can equally be used in very serious contexts.

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#5

Much like what previous people have said, 残念 carries the same kind of weight as something we would say as native English speakers. It’s a lot like saying “I’m so sorry to hear that”

If you translate it directly, of course it sounds cold, but it goes the same way as if you were to 直訳 “I’m so sorry to hear that” from English to Japanese. People would look at you weird because it’s just not the way natives speak.

If you’ve heard the phrase お気の毒 before, then you’ll probably have an easier time wrapping your head around it. お気の毒 is still a formal way to say something like “Damn dude, that’s really shitty to hear”, but the native 残念 carries more weight, and is faster to say.

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#6

Thanks everyone. I’ve only ever really heard it used casually, so I knew that could’ve been why it sounded off, and that’s why I wanted to check. Really appreciate the feedback.

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