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道Nihongo Path

雑談

ざつだん

chat; idle talk; small talk

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Examples

  1. ぜひ雑談でもしにいらしてください。

    ぜひざつだんでもしにいらしてください。

    You must come and have a chat with us.

  2. 休憩時間に同僚と雑談した。

    きゅうけいじかんにどうりょうとざつだんした。

    I chatted with a colleague during the break.

  3. 会議の前に少し雑談をして場を和ませた。

    かいぎのまえにすこしざつだんをしてばをなごませた。

    We made a little small talk before the meeting to loosen things up.

  4. 雑談に花が咲いて、気づけば二時間も経っていた。

    ざつだんにはながさいて、きづけばにじかんもたっていた。

    The chatting really took off, and before we knew it two hours had passed.

Common patterns

雑談する
to chat; to make small talk
雑談に花が咲く
for the conversation to really get going
雑談を交わす
to exchange small talk

Memory tip

雑 'miscellaneous' + 談 'talk' — talk with no agenda. Unlike 会話 (any conversation) or 相談 (consulting someone), 雑談 specifically means talk that is not about business; in an office it is the opposite of 打ち合わせ.

Kanji in this word

Quick check

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What does 雑談 mean?