LEARN + JAPANESE / 111 of 186 JLPT N4
Well Then それでは・じゃあ
それでは opens a closing line or a pivot toward a decision, “well then.” じゃ (or じゃあ) is its everyday, casual counterpart, doing exactly the same job at a lower register.
Well then, see you next week.
Well, see you tomorrow.
In Real Life
それでは and じゃ both wrap up a conversation and lead into a farewell, それでは fitting a formal or business setting, じゃ fitting friends and casual company. Neither actually changes the meaning, just the register the whole exchange is pitched at.
Well then, I'll bring it tonight.
I see. Well then, how about Wednesday?
Hint · 힌트
Beyond closing a conversation, それでは/じゃあ also pivots a discussion toward the next step, “given that, here’s what we’ll do,” often followed by a suggestion or a decision, as in じゃあ、水曜日はどうですか, floating a new option after the first one didn’t work.
Well then, let's make the present an alarm clock.
Hint · 힌트
それじゃあ, blending それでは’s formality with じゃあ’s shape, often introduces a final decision after weighing options, the same にしましょう pattern you already know from する・なる, “let’s make it X.”
Vocabulary
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| see you tomorrow | |
| see you next time | |
| to go pick up | |
| to fax | |
| right away | |
| to send | |
| alarm clock | |
| dessert | |
| fruit | |
| orange juice | |
| to decide | |
| to suggest | |
| conversation | |
| to wrap up, conclude | |
| to change the subject | |
| the next step | |
| polite | |
| casual | |
| to mark a break, divide | |
| to shift, move on |
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