Japanese: (station announcement) Taihen kiken desu kara…
Literal translation: It is very dangerous
Really meaning: Trains are dangerous. Living is dangerous. Free thinking is very dangerous. The outside world is terrifying. Be safe- vote LDP
Japanese: moshikashite
Literal meaning: maybe
Real meaning: no
Japanese: tabun
Literal meaning: maybe
Real meaning; no
Japanese: … kamoshirenai
Literal meaning: maybe
Real meaning: No
Japanese: Toshiba no Tanaka desu
Literal meaning: I am Toshiba’s Tanaka
Real meaning: I am Tanaka and I belong to Toshiba
This idea ran and ran, and got its own pages on my Japan blog:
http://japanexplained.wordpress.com/japanese-language-explained/what-the-japanese-really-mean/