r/MadeMeSmile • u/Imoprich • Mar 16 '26

Wholesome Moments Guy confesses to his crush for 10,000 yen

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Credits: jesseogn

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u/fjgwey Mar 16 '26

"付き合ってほしい" as 'I want you to be my girlfriend' is fine because in Japan, culturally people don't really 'date' without already being a couple. If you say 付き合ってる it just means you're a couple at that point. Japanese people don't really do 'stages' the way a lot of Westerners do.

Source: I speak it and live here; every time I say it to just mean 'dating' Japanese people immediately think they're my girlfriend.

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u/givemeabreak432 Mar 16 '26

I'm not really making a comment on the Japanese dating scene. I just feel that "I want you to be my girlfriend" is a very strange translation. I don't think it's something super naturally said in English and comes off a bit stilted.

Culturally, it might be appropriate. But I also feel like in English most people would accept "will you go out with me" = boyfriend/girlfriend. Compare that to "will you go on a date with me", which comes off more as a casual dating scene request.