Why PoliteWords Exists
Writing a condolence text in Japanese when you only speak English. Sending a wedding message to a Chinese colleague without accidentally using words that suggest separation. Figuring out whether to use Korean 존댓말 or 반말 when your counterpart is older but the setting is casual. These are real moments where a translation app falls short — you need a culturally calibrated phrase, not a literal translation.
PoliteWords was built to fill that gap. Instead of generating a guess, we publish curated, native-speaker-reviewed templates you can copy in one tap, organized by occasion, language, and formality level.
What You'll Find Here
- 7 languages: Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, French, and German.
- 13 occasion categories: condolences, apologies, thank-you notes, business greetings, birthday wishes, wedding congratulations, new year greetings, Christmas messages, farewell notes, get-well messages, graduation congratulations, housewarming wishes, and general greetings.
- 3 formality tones per phrase: formal (for superiors, elders, business), standard (for colleagues and acquaintances), and casual (for close friends and family).
- In-depth etiquette guides on cross-cultural communication — how business email structure differs between Japan and Korea, why Chinese wedding phrases avoid certain homophones, how Korean and Japanese honorific systems compare.
- A FAQ covering the most common questions we hear about polite writing.
Editorial Approach
Every template is reviewed against these standards before it goes live:
- Native-speaker calibration. Phrases are checked for naturalness in the target language, not just grammatical correctness.
- Tone consistency.A phrase marked "formal" in Korean should feel equivalently formal to a phrase marked "formal" in Japanese — the labels are meant to be cross-comparable.
- Cultural safety. We flag words or constructions that are technically polite but contextually risky (for example, phrasings in Chinese wedding messages that carry unlucky connotations).
- Living corrections. Language and etiquette shift. If a native speaker spots something that feels off, we update it — email us.
Who Builds This
PoliteWords is built and maintained by Choppy Toast, a solo indie project focused on small, genuinely useful web tools. The author is a Korean developer based in Seoul, working in public. Other Choppy Toast projects include tool directories, calculators, and niche utilities listed in the site footer.
PoliteWords is free and will stay free. Advertising (via Google AdSense) and small optional tips are what keep it running.
Contact and Corrections
Spotted a phrase that sounds off in your native language? Want to suggest an occasion we should add? Email choppy.young@gmail.com. Corrections are especially welcome — we'd rather fix something quickly than leave an awkward phrase live.
See also: Privacy Policy · Terms of Service.