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How to politely quit tea ceremony lessons 2015/2/4 08:53
For the last 6 months I have been having weekly lessons in tea ceremony with a teacher who lives near me.

However, I now want to quit these lessons. Mainly because I plan to only stay in Japan one more year, and want to be able to use my Saturday's to do as many different things as I can, not the same thing every week. Also, I feel that I've learnt as much as I want to (also, seiza is really painful!).

Although my Japanese is ok, I am much better at understanding, and pretty bad at speaking and I know I make a lot of mistakes! At the moment I can't think of a way to say I am quitting the lessons, without offending my teacher.
Could someone teach me a simple, polite phrase to say I am quitting?
by fififi12  

Re: How to politely quit tea ceremony lessons 2015/2/4 10:06
It's up to how much you want to tell them, and how familiar you are with the "respectful" speech, but you could say something like

Koremade sensei no sadou no o-keiko wo tanoshinde kimashita ga,
Nihon ni iru jikan mo kagirarete kita node, mata besu no koto wo manande mitai to omoi hajimemashita.
Desu node, zannen desu ga, sensei no o-keiko wa, yamesasete itadakitai to omoimasu.
Sadou no seishin wa, mijikai kikan deshita ga, shikkari manabimashita.
Imamade arigatou gozaimashita.

(I have been enjoying your tea ceremony lessons so far,
but now that the time I stay in Japan is limited, I began to feel that I want to learn something different too.
Therefore, I would like to quit your lessons.
Though I stayed only for a short while, I learned the spirit of tea ceremony.
Thank you very much for all you've done so far. )

I'm referring to the teacher as "sensei," and tea ceremony lesson as "sadou no o-keiko."
by AK rate this post as useful

Re: How to politely quit tea ceremony lessons 2015/2/4 10:19
Just say to your Sensei that you want to stop the lesson.
And or, simply say that you want to spend your time on Sat other than the lesson.
It's nice to bring some "Okashi" worth between 1000-2000 yen for the Sensei and the other members can be shared.

Sample;
"Sensei, kongetsu de ocha no lesson wo yamemasu"

Sensei says why is that?

"Doyobi ni hokano koto wo shimasu"
"Imamade arigatou gozaimashita"

present the gift okashi

"Minasan de omeshi agari kudasai"
by tokyo friend 48 rate this post as useful

Re: How to politely quit tea ceremony lessons 2015/2/4 17:16
Thank you for your helpful advice, AK and tokyo friend 48.

AK, if I changed
'Nihon ni iru jikan mo kagirarete kita node, mata besu no koto wo manande mitai to omoi hajimemashita'
to
'Nihon ni iru jikan mo kagirarete kita node, iroirona koto shitai to omoimasu / omoi hajimemashita' or 'iroirona keiken shitai to omoimasu / omoi hajimemashita'

is this still ok? Because there isn't another thing I want to learn, but just having free time to do different things, such as travelling, or going to events or matsuri etc.

Also, do you think it would be best to say this at the start or end of the class? I think at the start, but do you think this would be bad?
by fififi12 rate this post as useful

"jitsuwa..." 2015/2/4 18:08
"Jitsuwa" is the word you're looking for.

Literally meaning "in fact" or "to be honest" or "Uh, Ms. Abc, you know..." it allows the listener to be prepared for the next tragic announcement.

Try to find some time alone with the teacher, go up to her and say, "Sensei? Anou... jitsuwa..." and she'll almost know what you're going to say. The rest is easy.

I would suggest you say your reasons first, briefly. That's the traditional way in Japan. It's sometimes better not to be too direct. And then say that you wish to quit.

As suggested, tell the teacher in advance, at least a couple of weeks before your last day.
by Uco (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: How to politely quit tea ceremony lessons 2015/2/5 08:18
AK, if I changed
'Nihon ni iru jikan mo kagirarete kita node, mata besu no koto wo manande mitai to omoi hajimemashita'
to
'Nihon ni iru jikan mo kagirarete kita node, iroirona koto shitai to omoimasu / omoi hajimemashita' or 'iroirona keiken shitai to omoimasu / omoi hajimemashita'

is this still ok?


Sorry I misspelled one word, it should be "beTSU no koto," by the way.

Yes. "...iroiro na koto WO shitai to ..." or "...iroiro na keiken WO shitai to ..." would be the precise way to say it.

And I agree with Uco-san about "jitsu wa..."
by AK rate this post as useful

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