Dear my fellow adventurers.
It's an honor to see that number of people trying to access the pages in this blog has exceeded one thousand. I was not expecting such a large number. I really appreciate your attention.
Today's main topic is how to reply to a post on Instagram.
"Kawaii"
Generally speaking, "kirei", which means "beautiful", is the most common expression of compliment for someone's photo. But when you reply on Instagram, it's not the case. The search result on Instagram clearly shows that "Kawaii" is the most frequently used expression to mention.So, the simplest expression to reply on Instagram is this.
ex:「かわいい。」
"kawaii.'
"Cute." or "Pretty."
But this might sound a little blunt. If you add an exclamation mark, it would be a perfect expression as a novice of Japanese language.
ex:「かわいい！」
"Kawaiidesune!"
The next step will be polite form.You don't have to be so formal on Instagram, but when you search in the Instagram and reply to somebody who has never contacted you before, then I recommend to add "desune" at the end. "desu' makes your reply more formal, and by adding "ne" at the end of the sentence, you can ask for listener's confirmation or agreement.
「かわいいですね!」
"Kawaii desune!"
"It's cute, isn't it?"
You can see what kind of pictures are appropriate for this expression by tapping the following link.
https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/%E3%81%8B%E3%82%8F%E3%81%84%E3%81%84/
You will find that "kawaii' is used for diverse object such as girls, babies, small animals, or clothes.
"Kakkoii!"
But how about something bigger or manly object? If you would like to reply to "cool' photos, "Kakkoii" would be the most useful expression.「かっこいい！」or「かっこいいですね！」
"Kakkoii!" or "Kakkoiidesune!"
”Cool!" or "It's cool, isn't it?"
Here is the link to the search result of 「かっこいい」on Instagram. I guess you will find something or somebody more active, or more aggressive comparing to "Kawaii".
https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/%E3%81%8B%E3%81%A3%E3%81%93%E3%81%84%E3%81%84/
"Oishiso!"
One of the Japanese people's favorite object on Instagram is food. Lots of us post what we eat. Now, the number of search results for #おいしい which means "Delicious" is almost 3 million. That means you have almost 3 million opportunities to reply "おいしそう！"."おいしそう！" or "おいしそうですね！"
"oishisou!" or "Oishisoudesune!"
"Looks delicious! "
In English speaking world, people sometimes reply "It's delicious!" or "It's yummy!" on Instagram. I guess it would be a natural expression for them, but it sounds very strange if you say exactly same thing in Japanese. We never say "おいしい" when we see pictures of food without tasting it. So, you really have to say "おいしそう！" instead of "おいしい！".
"Sugoi!"
This is another typical expression of compliment. But it is not about how it looks. Rather, it's about an achievement or skills. For example, when your friend post a selfie on the summit of high mountain, or with northern light in their background, you can say "Sugoi!"."すごい！" or ”すごいですね！”
"Sugoi!" or "Sugoidesune!"
"Great!"
When you would like to exaggerate casually, the following expression is frequently used.
"すっごーい！"
"Suggooi!"
"Amazing!"
In this case, "desune" is not used together, since this expression sounds very casual.
Today, I introduced some basic ways to reply on Instagram.
But they do not become your real skills unless you use them in a real communication.
Please do not afraid of making mistake, and tap the "reply" button on the Instagram.
I hope this article will help you to communicate on Instagram.
