by Tomoyuki Higuchi
How do you say “Say Cheese!” in Japanese?
Today’s phrase is :
Say Cheese!
はいチーズ!
hai chīzu
We often say “はいチーズ” when we take pictures.
“チーズ” means “cheese” … yes, “はいチーズ” comes from “Say Cheese”.
The difference between English and Japanese is that the person taking a picture says “はいチーズ”, but the people in the picture say nothing. They do not say “チーズ”, just give him/her a big smile.