Lowering Formality
If a friend is speaking to me with long form conjugations (ie. desu/masu), how would I suggest less formal speech. I'm guessing I would just speak the way I want them to and hope they follow suit.

Also, if anyone has stories of situations like this, I would like to hear them.

Question

Lowering Formality
If a friend is speaking to me with long form conjugations (ie. desu/masu), how would I suggest less formal speech. I'm guessing I would just speak the way I want them to and hope they follow suit.

Also, if anyone has stories of situations like this, I would like to hear them.

Answer

If your friend use " desu/ masu" , you and your friend's relationship might  not so frank yet. But, in my opinion, if  your friend is elder than you, you should keep using "desu/ masu" after constructing good relationship with him/her. If you don't want to, how about asking your friend,such as  " Shall we talk in more frank manner?"

Answer

Yes, similar situations happen among native Japanese speakers, too.

Generally speaking, it's the elder one who can decide whether to use desu/masu or not. It can be impolite if the younger one just starts talking casually, especially before they get very close.

Answers · 4

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