Use of sarcasm

There is one aspect in the English language, at least in American English, that seems to be very unfamiliar to Japanese people. I am a fan of using sarcasm in my daily conversations, whether in-person or online. However, it seems that every time I have attempted to use it when communicating with a Japanese person, they always take what I say literally. I try to explain what sarcasm is, but it never really seems to sink in.
So my question is: Does sarcasm exist in the Japanese language? In English, it is prompted with the tone of voice. If it does exist in Japanese, I would like to know how it is initiated (how it is commonly used in conversation).

Thanks!

Jeemusu,

I think the short answer here is that sarcasm is not generally used (or understood) in daily conversation in the way that it is so commonly used by native English speakers, so sadly you should avoid it in Japanese.

I agree with Dave that you should avoid it, but for a different reason.

A lot of people say that sarcasm is common in English (actually, particularly in England) but not at all in Japan. I think not. Quite a lot of sarcasm is used in Japan as well. Traditional "rakugo" jokes are full of them.

But sarcasm language is quite tricky, be it in English or Japanese. You have to use precisely the right terms, tone and rhythm to make it sound like sarcasim and not literal expression. Otherwise how would you know if you're serious or not :) Native speakers/writers (again, be it English or American or Japanese) do it by nature. They don't realise the little tones they're using unconsciously.

So for that reason, until you have a mutual understanding of the language, it's safer to avoid sarcasm, or to just put "ha, ha" at the end.

I agree with Uco. Also sarcasm in writing often looks harsher than when it is spoken face to face.

It does indeed. I find especially keigo and the variating politeness of phrases, in the right context, a form of sarcasm can be used very effectively. Very formal phrases used in situations that would otherwise warrant casual phrases can convey sarcasm very well. Of course, all depends on the context, facial expressions, etc.

The closest translation of sarcasm in Japanese is: ”ç“÷/ Hiniku.

But, from my experience, at least, I think it has somewhat of a negative connotation in japanese.

are you speaking in english? or japanese? when you talk with your japanese friends.

if its english, they are just not good at english.
thats why they cant understand your sarcasm.
you cant expect japanese is good at english.

if its japanese, your intonation is not yet so good.

at least japanese does have a culture of sarcasm.

I've also encountered this problem, and thought about how I should do it, because I also am a jokingly sarcastic person, but my Japanese friends don't seem to get the hint, be it in English or Japanese. I asked them about it, and they said it is different from English, so you can't just apply the same methods of sarcasm to Japanese that you use now :( But you can observe Japanese people, and I'm sure you will see that they do have their way of teasing each other, poking fun... it's not directly sarcasm as such, but it's close :)
Hope that helps ^^

I think it's sarcastic that the word "sarcasm" is usually translated as "hiniku".

In real life, sarcasm can be hiniku, shinikaru (cynical), dokuzetsu or even boke, or even tsukkomi for that matter. The world-famous film director Takeshi Kitano who is more famous as a comedian in Japan is probably one of the best when it comes to modern Japanese sarcastic comedy. But I guess Hikaru Ota has taken over nowadays :)

Wow, I didn't know that I would get so much feedback on this topic. I really give my thanks to everyone who responded. There were some very interesting facts pointed out. I guess I have just come to the realization that I should completely avoid (I know it will be hard!) the use of sarcasm when communicating with Japanese people, whether it be in English or Japanese. It only seems to cause confusion and like everyone has been saying, you must have a very high level of understanding in Japanese to produce such an effect. I guess I'll just have to manage without it for now.

All my dictionaries (in several languages)give a negative meaning to sarcasm. It is considered pointedly hurtful. Wit, on the other hand,is funny for all concerned. Wit is also very often so clever that not everyone "get it" even in one's mother tongue.