This study is a comparative examination of the phrase ‘good at communication’ in Chinese and Japanese, and has two significant findings.
Firstly, the results indicate that the Chinese language may have a greater amount of vocabulary and vocabulary production than Japanese, as well as a more varied vocabulary.
Secondly, although “good at communication” would seem a positive evaluation, the data in this study shows that it is also associated with a considerable number of negative evaluative phrases in both Chinese and Japanese, most notably in Chinese. This may indicate both the negation principle within both Chinese and Japanese cultures, and that
being “good at communication” may not always play an important role in interpersonal relations in these two cultures.

本稿は2017 年国家社会科学基金項目「日中韓語中的“ 表人比喩” 詞彙対比研究」(17BYY219)、蘇州大学校委托項目及び欒竹民平成29年度広島市立大学特定研究費による研究成果の一部である。