Asked by a Junior Colleague if He is Living Together: He Responds, "Not Only Do I Have a Partner, But I Can Also Walk on Walls!"

Sometimes, the Japanese language can lead to confusion regarding the subject of a sentence, resulting in many misunderstandings and complications. For instance, a Twitter user named @chipie0826 shared a conversation with a subordinate at work that resulted in a miscommunication due to an unclear subject.

The Conversation

The exchange began when the subordinate asked if the user had a cohabitant:

Subordinate: "I remember that you seem to be living together (with a partner?), right?"

The user responded:

User: "Yes, I do (with my cat)."

The subordinate then inquired:

Subordinate: "What kind of partner is it?"

The user replied:

User: "It’s very lively! It often goes wild and breaks a lot of things."

This led to the subordinate’s surprised reaction:

Subordinate: "Eh!? Is that okay!?"

The user continued:

User: "It also makes a lot of noise and runs around on the roof."

This prompted another shocked response from the subordinate:

Subordinate: "It runs on the roof!?!?"

The Revelation

In reality, the cohabitant (the cat) was the source of the misunderstanding. The user’s cohabitant being a cat made sense, but it was still surprising since cats rarely climb walls!

Community Reactions

• One netizen commented: "Calm down and listen to me, your senior has never had a partner!"
• Another added: "You should have noticed it was a cat! But then when they said 'runs on the roof,' it became a dead end."
• A humorous take was: "Subordinate: 'Could it be that the partner is a ninja...!?'”
• Another netizen joked: "Cat... ninja!"
• Yet another quipped: "Ninja cat!"
• Finally, someone remarked: "So please speak clearly, okay?"

The subordinate's innocent misunderstanding was quite adorable, even though much of it stemmed from the user's intentional misdirection.

職場にて

部下「先輩って確か（恋人と？）同棲してるんですよね？」

私「(猫と)してるよ」

部「どんな方なんですか？」

私「めっちゃ元気。なんかよく暴れるし物いっぱい壊すね。」

部「え！？大丈夫なんですか！？」

私「あと大きな声出して壁とか走るよ」

部「壁走るんですか！？！？」 pic.twitter.com/b5Z1nZcOBD

— しぴこめᓚᘏᗢ (@chipie0826) July 11, 2023