「お約束」- The 'I Knew It!' Secret Handshake for Insiders

You're watching a comedy show (お笑い番組), and a comedian pretends he's about to slip on a banana peel 🍌. The whole audience roars with laughter even before he has actually fallen.

Or in an action movie, a side character suddenly says, "After this battle, I'm going back to my hometown to get married" 💍. Instantly, you know with 99% certainty that this character is about to be 'eliminated.'

These "I knew it!" situations are what the Japanese refer to with a very interesting word: お約束 (Oyakusoku).

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🤔 "Oyakusoku"? Not just a promise!

If you just look it up in a dictionary, 約束 means "promise, appointment." But when you add お in front and use it in an everyday context, it transforms into a completely different concept.

お約束 refers to a classic script, a recurring trope, a standard comedic gag that everyone knows and expects to happen. It's like an "unwritten rule" in entertainment and even in daily communication.

It's a form of "insider joke" where the entire nation of Japan is in on it! 🤣

💡 "Classic" examples of お約束

To understand it better, let's look at some super familiar examples:

1. On variety shows 📺:

   • The hot oden gag: Someone is forced to eat super hot oden and has to scream "Hot! Hot!" (熱々おでん). This is a classic お約束.
   • The "Don't Press" button: There's a button on the wall clearly labeled 「絶対に押すなよ！」(Absolutely do not press!). The お約束 is that someone will definitely press that button. 👆
   • Hitting with a paper fan: In Manzai comedy duos, the tsukkomi (the straight man) hitting the boke (the funny man) on the head with a paper fan is an essential お約束.

2. In movies & anime 🎬:

   • The "going home" curse: As mentioned above, the line "After this battle, I'm going home to..." is an お約束 that the character is about to die. ☠️
   • Mid-year school transfer: The main character transfers to a new school in the middle of the academic year. The お約束 is that they will be seated at the "mysterious" desk in the back by the window.

3. In daily life 🍻:

   • Your boss invites you for drinks after work and starts telling the same old success story over and over again. You might whisper to a colleague: 「また部長のお約束の自慢話が始まったよ」(The boss has started his classic bragging story again).

✨ How to use it super naturally

When you recognize a familiar situation, you can exclaim:

• あ、これお約束のパターンだ！ (A, kore oyakusoku no patānda!)

  • Ah, this is the classic pattern!

• それはもうお約束だからね。 (Sore wa mou oyakusoku dakara ne.)

  • Well, that's just the 'standard routine'. (Said with a knowing tone)

Understanding and using お約束 not only makes watching TV more fun but also shows that you've truly 'caught the wave' of Japanese culture and ways of thinking. Next time you encounter a familiar situation, try using this word. Your Japanese friends will surely be surprised! 😉