The Japanese word シャキシャキ (ShakiShaki) can be translated as “crispy” when talking about food, but can also be used to describe people. Maybe the right translation would be Energetic, but I actually like the connotation of crispy for personality as well.
Not a word I use, but Japanese love using onomatopoeia which sometimes is unclear to me.
A few days ago I went to a wine bar for dinner, and a couple on their first date were sitting next to me at the counter. Both seemed in their late 20s or early 30s, both dressed well, would even say more fashionable than the average.
Guy drinking Sangria (?!), girl drinking wine.
Conversation was mostly about music, music I love like New Order, Talking heads and Indies which was quite surprising considering their age. I wanted to join the conversation, but obviously didn’t as not to interrupt their date (and glad I didn’t)
Girl was the quiet type, answering questions; the guy leading the conversation asking questions while she is answering in a quiet voice and sometimes vague answers.
And then, when I was about to leave the restaurant, the guy changed conversation to her previous boyfriends. Honesty, don’t know how dates are done in Japan, but seemed too aggressive to me. Girl answered as always, with a vague, unclear, uncertain voice.
And here we connect to シャキシャキ.
The guy suddenly said that her character and behavior were not what he expected from their correspondence before the date. That he thought she was シャキシャキ , but she is not. At this point, the girl went even more silent asking if that is bad. To which he answered , “no, but different from my expectation”.
How I wish I could finish the story. What happened next? Did the date end in that note or did they enjoy the rest of the night and maybe decide on a second date?
Anyways, people sometimes have different personality when writing on SNS and instant messaging, being シャキシャキ. Energetic and strong, while different when meeting face to face.
