Atmosphere
Atmosphere is a word that Japanese speakers seem to want to use a lot when they’re speaking English.
I often heard students say that they liked something because it had a “comfortable atmosphere.”
This is not an expression native speakers would use very often.
Certainly you don’t use “atmosphere” when you are talking about a person.
Native speakers might talk about the atmosphere of a restaurant or club.
“That new Italian restaurant has a nice atmosphere.”
“Comfortable” is usually used for furniture or clothing. (“That chair is really comfortable.”)
If you want to express something like “comfortable” for a place, you can say it’s relaxing.
“I like to visit that forest. It’s a very relaxing place.”
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Tags: English
Posted by Aidan on Mon 17 May 2010 at 19:33 under English, Grammar & Common Mistakes | Permalink
Hi Aidan,
Thank you for your nice advice. For many Japanese including me, “atmosphere” is easy to use. I don’t know exactly why, tough.
Having tea in a relaxing way,
I learn many new things from your blog. I appreciate you a lot.
Sincerely,
yuko
Hi Yuko,
Thank you for your comments. I’m glad you find the blog useful.
Most languages have expressions that people like to use a lot that sound strange when they try and translate them when people are speaking a foreign language.