話が合う
話が合う
はなしがあう
to be on the same wavelength; to find someone enjoyable to talk to; to get along well with someone; to hit it off with someone; to see eye to eye with someone
Literally: “talk + が + fits.”
I've been pulling my hair out trying to find the perfect translation for 話が合う (はなしがあう).
Looking at a Japanese definition, it seems to mean something like "to find someone enjoyable to talk to" or "to get along well with someone:"
趣味や好みなどが一致して、楽しい話ができる。
しゅみ や このみ など が いっち して、 たのしい はなし が できる。
to be able to have an enjoyable conversation with someone because they have similar interests, tastes, etc.
Literally: “hobby + や + liking / tastes + and the like + が + agreement / matching + do (and), + enjoyable + talk / conversation + が + can do.”
Source: goo辞書
And yet, in a lot of the sentences that I come across, 話が合う seems to mean something closer to "to hit it off with someone:"
ビリーさんとは、初めて会った時から話が合った。
ビリーさん と は、 はじめて あった とき から はなし が あった。
I hit it off with Billy-san the very first time I met him.
Literally: “Billy-san + と + は, + for the first time + met + time / when + from / since + talk + が + fit.”
わたしはなぜか、何十歳も年上の人と話が合う。
わたし は なぜか、 なんじゅっさい も としうえ の ひと と はなし が あう。
For some reason, I always seem to hit it off with people who are decades older than me.
Literally: “I + は + for some reason, + several decades (in age) + も + older + の + person + と + talk + が + fits.”
Perhaps the perfect translation just doesn't exit.
When you say that you "hit it off" with someone, the nuance is that you're talking about the moment that you first met them.
But 話が合う can refer to your ongoing interactions with a person. In that sense, perhaps it would be better to translate it as "to find someone easy to connect with," "to see eye to eye with someone," "to be on the same wavelength as someone," etc.
Although I think that those translations sound a little bit awkward for our first examples...
ビリーさんとは、初めて会った時から話が合った。
ビリーさん と は、 はじめて あった とき から はなし が あった。
I hit it off with Billy-san the very first time I met him.
△ I've gotten along with Billy-san ever since I first met him.
△ I've seen eye to eye with Billy-san ever since I first met him.
△ I've felt connected to Billy-san since the first time I met him.
△ Billy-san and I have been on the same wavelength since we first met.
Literally: “Billy-san + と + は, + for the first time + met + time / when + from / since + talk + が + fit.”
わたしはなぜか、何十歳も年上の人と話が合う。
わたし は なぜか、 なんじゅっさい も としうえ の ひと と はなし が あう。
For some reason, I always seem to hit it off with people who are decades older than me.
△ For some reason, I always seem get along with people who are decades older than me.
△ For some reason, I always see eye to eye with people who are decades older than me.
△ For some reason, I always feel connected to people who are decades older than me.
△ For some reason, I'm always on the same wavelength as people who are decades older than me.
Literally: “I + は + for some reason, + several decades (in age) + も + older + の + person + と + talk + が + fits.”
Agh! My brain can't take these translation conundrums.
By the way, there are cases when I think "to hit it off with someone" is not the best choice for our English translations...
インドア派の人とはあまり話が合わない。
インドア は の ひと と は あまり はなし が あわない。
I find it hard to connect with people who like being indoors.
Literally: “indoor + faction / clique + の + person + と + は + not very / not really + talk + が + doesn’t fit.”
Perhaps, as usual, we're best off simply learning this 慣用句 (かんようく // phrasal idiom) by seeing it used by Japanese people in a variety of situations...
A:
なんで別れちゃったの？
なんで わかれちゃった の？
Why did you two break up?
Literally: “why + (unfortunately) broke up / (ended up) parting + の?”
B:
だって話が合わないんだもん。
だって はなし が あわない んだ もん。
We don’t see eye to eye on anything.
Literally: “well, because + talk + が + doesn’t fit + んだ + もん (=because).”
That's all for this one.
Hope I didn't confuse you too much. *_*
Complete and Continue
はなしがあう
to be on the same wavelength; to find someone enjoyable to talk to; to get along well with someone; to hit it off with someone; to see eye to eye with someone
Literally: “talk + が + fits.”
I've been pulling my hair out trying to find the perfect translation for 話が合う (はなしがあう).
Looking at a Japanese definition, it seems to mean something like "to find someone enjoyable to talk to" or "to get along well with someone:"
趣味や好みなどが一致して、楽しい話ができる。
しゅみ や このみ など が いっち して、 たのしい はなし が できる。
to be able to have an enjoyable conversation with someone because they have similar interests, tastes, etc.
Literally: “hobby + や + liking / tastes + and the like + が + agreement / matching + do (and), + enjoyable + talk / conversation + が + can do.”
Source: goo辞書
And yet, in a lot of the sentences that I come across, 話が合う seems to mean something closer to "to hit it off with someone:"
ビリーさんとは、初めて会った時から話が合った。
ビリーさん と は、 はじめて あった とき から はなし が あった。
I hit it off with Billy-san the very first time I met him.
Literally: “Billy-san + と + は, + for the first time + met + time / when + from / since + talk + が + fit.”
わたしはなぜか、何十歳も年上の人と話が合う。
わたし は なぜか、 なんじゅっさい も としうえ の ひと と はなし が あう。
For some reason, I always seem to hit it off with people who are decades older than me.
Literally: “I + は + for some reason, + several decades (in age) + も + older + の + person + と + talk + が + fits.”
Perhaps the perfect translation just doesn't exit.
When you say that you "hit it off" with someone, the nuance is that you're talking about the moment that you first met them.
But 話が合う can refer to your ongoing interactions with a person. In that sense, perhaps it would be better to translate it as "to find someone easy to connect with," "to see eye to eye with someone," "to be on the same wavelength as someone," etc.
Although I think that those translations sound a little bit awkward for our first examples...
ビリーさんとは、初めて会った時から話が合った。
ビリーさん と は、 はじめて あった とき から はなし が あった。
I hit it off with Billy-san the very first time I met him.
△ I've gotten along with Billy-san ever since I first met him.
△ I've seen eye to eye with Billy-san ever since I first met him.
△ I've felt connected to Billy-san since the first time I met him.
△ Billy-san and I have been on the same wavelength since we first met.
Literally: “Billy-san + と + は, + for the first time + met + time / when + from / since + talk + が + fit.”
わたしはなぜか、何十歳も年上の人と話が合う。
わたし は なぜか、 なんじゅっさい も としうえ の ひと と はなし が あう。
For some reason, I always seem to hit it off with people who are decades older than me.
△ For some reason, I always seem get along with people who are decades older than me.
△ For some reason, I always see eye to eye with people who are decades older than me.
△ For some reason, I always feel connected to people who are decades older than me.
△ For some reason, I'm always on the same wavelength as people who are decades older than me.
Literally: “I + は + for some reason, + several decades (in age) + も + older + の + person + と + talk + が + fits.”
Agh! My brain can't take these translation conundrums.
By the way, there are cases when I think "to hit it off with someone" is not the best choice for our English translations...
インドア派の人とはあまり話が合わない。
インドア は の ひと と は あまり はなし が あわない。
I find it hard to connect with people who like being indoors.
Literally: “indoor + faction / clique + の + person + と + は + not very / not really + talk + が + doesn’t fit.”
Perhaps, as usual, we're best off simply learning this 慣用句 (かんようく // phrasal idiom) by seeing it used by Japanese people in a variety of situations...
A:
なんで別れちゃったの？
なんで わかれちゃった の？
Why did you two break up?
Literally: “why + (unfortunately) broke up / (ended up) parting + の?”
B:
だって話が合わないんだもん。
だって はなし が あわない んだ もん。
We don’t see eye to eye on anything.
Literally: “well, because + talk + が + doesn’t fit + んだ + もん (=because).”
That's all for this one.
Hope I didn't confuse you too much. *_*
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