A conversation from work:
Bilingual Japanese coworker: So this dialog says "I want to hear all about it." Can I change it to "I want to hear a lot about it?"
Me: I don't think so. It sounds weird.
Coworker: But it doesn't match the Japanese.
(I read that the Japanese side says "iroiro" which can mean "various" or "many" but not "all.")
Me: "A lot" and "all" have the same meaning in this sentence, though.
Coworker: Really, it's the same?
Me: Yes, pretty much.
Coworker: I'm just worried that customers will check their dictionaries and complain that "all" is not one of the meanings for "iroiro."
Me: That's true...But it's so American! We exaggerate.
Coworker: (Starts nodding and laughing.)
Me: We say "Tell me all about it" when we actually mean "Tell me about it for five minutes, until I get bored." Japanese people are more honest.
Coworker: Then we can make it one of the language points for this page.
Me: Good idea! It's perfect.
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