I don’t feel bad or angry at all. I just said, “I am Japanese”. 我并不觉得糟糕或者生气。我只是会解释说:“我是日本人。”
I know that they can’t recognise which one is Japanese or Chinese. 我知道他们没办法区分哪个是中国人哪个是日本人。
We are all similar faces. I think they feel Asian is all same. I can’t recognise which one is American or English either.我们拥有相同的脸,我觉得他们认为亚洲人长得都一样,就像我也没办法区分美国人和英国人一样。
I would actually be impressed if a Westerner recognizes me as Japanese. 如果西方人能认出我是日本人我才会很惊讶。
I mean, even I sometimes can’t tell the Asians apart. 因为即使是我,有时候也没办法区分亚洲人。
It’s a reasonable assumption since what, almost 90% of the East Asian population is Chinese.这是非常合理的一条假设,因为,中国人口占据了东亚人口的90%。
I usually politely correct them, teach them the Japanese greetings (Konnichiwa), and walk away to get on with my life.我通常会礼貌地纠正他们并且教他们日本人的问候方式然后再追上我的妻子。
P.S. In reverse, I will also confess that despite living in Germany for the past two years, I have never been able to tell Italians and Germans apart.备注:反过来,即使我在德国生活了两年,我也没办法区分意大利人和德国人。