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Dear visitor, if you know the answer to this question, please post it. Thank you! "See you later" in Japanese 2005/8/15 Is ''Soredeha Mata'' a more formal version of ''See you later'' than ''Dewa Mata'' is? I have two different J-man pen friends and one signs his letters ''Dewa Mata'' and the other ''Soredeha Mata.'' Just wondering if it was a formal/informal thing or maybe just a regional difference? Arigatou! by Graciella   O? 2005/8/15 I have 2 male penpal friends as well and they both sign with 'ja mata-ne'. Is that different again? by Trudy rate this post as useful Dewa and ja 2005/8/15 Actually, ja and dewa mean the same thing and can be used interchangeably nearly all the time. by Mark rate this post as useful Ja mata - dewa mata 2005/8/15 Whilst Ja-mata and dewa mata have the same meaning Dewa mata is used in more formal speach and ja mata is informal speach by David rate this post as useful to graciella 2005/8/16 Yeah David is right. Also "Ja mata ne" sounds like the most normal thing to say in an informal conversation with a pen friend or a younger person, but if you go to Japan and you are talking to your neighbor or a stranger then instead of see you later, you might want to say doomo(doe moe) it is a formal term meaning thanks, but you can use it to say hello and good bye. Dewa mata is like saying "I hope to hear from you soon," where Ja mata ne is more like "catch you later," or "see ya". I am not suggesting that you just say doomo to your penfriends, because you are already talking in a more friendly manner, but if you are thinking about formallity, doomo is a good word to know and it is easy to remember. by sarahck rate this post as useful sore deha mata 2005/8/16 May be a typo "Sore dewa mata" is like saying "With that (being said) see you later" yet sounds alittle bit higher on the Japanese pyramid of formal speach. by sarahck rate this post as useful informal 2005/8/17 i think the most informal way to say "see ya" would be ja ne, or even just ja. by Maddy rate this post as useful .. 2005/8/17 Seba in Akita Hona in Osaka by .. rate this post as useful the de wa- ja(a) distinction 2007/5/7 For clarification, ja(a) is a contraction of de wa, and in general, in Japan as in English, contracted forms are considered less formal than un-contracted. In spite of this, at times, even a more formal exchange in either the written form or the spoken can have a slightly less formal ending, as to invoke a lighter feeling in closing. Another common sign-off of a more formal letter, but one that still contains the lighter under-tones of familiarity, is the un-contracted form twice in a row "de wa de wa". by Ben rate this post as useful Different writing 2008/2/20 Sore deha Mata = Sore dewa mata Just different ways of romanisation. Just adding, just in case by Kunio no Nekketsu rate this post as useful We say 2008/2/20 see you later is mata atodene or dewa mata atodene and for see you ja matane or dewa matane by in sapporo rate this post as useful Check the date 2008/2/20 To the two helpful posters above... The question was asked and answered two and a half years ago. by Dave in Saitama rate this post as useful see you later in japanese 2008/8/31 jamata by Emma rate this post as useful . 2008/9/1 In Japanese, "level of politeness" is very important. "jaa ne", "ja mata" etc are so casual and you MUST NOT use them except to your close friends and colleagues. I saw some people in this forum finished their posts with "jaa na" or something like that, which is quite inappropriate. by meringue4 rate this post as useful To: Dave in Saitama 2008/9/30 It may be a very old article, but it still helped me when I did a Google search. First thing that came up, and the new info posted was quite relevant. by Jacen rate this post as useful it's all about contraction 2010/5/24 Just wanted to add something to what appears to be an old post but : This as in all conversation is about how "casual" you can afford to be in your speech. Just as in English there are many many ways of saying "goodbye" depending on who you are talking to. In this instance "sore dewa" (which actually translates to "in that case" or "therefore" ) gets shortened to "sore ja" (Dewa often gets abbreviated to "ja". It's quite acceptable when speaking to a friend (in an on-line chat or a phone call for example ) to start to bring the conversation to a close with "sore ja....." as the rest (when you plan to speak again ) may be inferred or added later. It's also quite common (in a very casual situation to end a conversation with simple..."ja ne". "Mata ne" just means...."see you later..ok". None of these shortened versions should be used in a more formal situation. Hope this helps or at least adds a little more. by StuartJ (guest) rate this post as useful

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