雑談
Meaning in Englishchatting, idle talk
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
雑談 means casual conversation or small talk. It refers to light, casual, non-technical dialogue about a variety of topics, typically used to fill time, ease social interaction, or maintain sociability in informal settings.
Main meanings
- Casual, light conversation among friends or coworkers about everyday topics.
- Chit-chat that aims to ease social interaction rather than pursue a goal or solve a problem.
- Non-formal talk that may occur during breaks, before/after meetings, or in online chats.
How to use it
Used in casual and semi-formal conversation to describe light talk. In workplace or formal contexts, 雑談 is appropriate for describing brief, non-work-related chatter or passing remarks, but it is not a substitute for topic-focused or professional discussion. Typically followed by a verb like する to indicate the act of having a casual talk; it may occur during breaks, before meetings, or in online chats, and it can set a friendly tone without committing to a detailed agenda.
Variants and close terms
- おしゃべり (oshaberi) casual chatter
- 世間話 (sekenbanashi) small talk about daily life
- 雑談風 (zatsudan-fu) in a conversational, informal style
Composition
- 雑: miscellaneous, mixed;
- 談: talk, discussion;
- Together they describe a casual, miscellaneous-topic conversation.
Etymology
雑ざつ = miscellaneous, mixed; 談だん = talk, conversation. When combined as 雑談, they denote talk about miscellaneous topics, giving the sense of light, casual discussion.
Word class
noun (名詞); can take the suru-verb form 雑談する