For anyone who's ever dabbled in Japanese, you're probably well aware of "keigo," the intricate system of honorifics. Japanese culture places immense importance on politeness, making keigo a non-negotiable in formal settings like diplomatic negotiations, news broadcasts, and business dealings. It's also essential when juniors speak to seniors, or when people aren't familiar with each other.
Recently, a Japanese user on X (formerly Twitter) tried to get ChatGPT to draft a business letter. The result? An absolute "honorific explosion" (爆敬語, baku-keigo) that sent Japanese netizens into a frenzy of laughter and shares. Many dubbed it an "honorific nuclear disaster," sparking a hilarious new catchphrase: "Kashikomari Bomber" (roughly, "Respectfully, Bomber!").
The whole thing kicked off on April 30th when a user posted, "I asked ChatGPT to write a business letter, and it just exploded one for me. Seriously, don't try this at home." The post included a screenshot of the hilariously over-the-top letter.
Beyond standard phrases like "ご多用のところ大変恐縮ではございますが" (We deeply apologize for bothering you during your busy schedule), the letter featured absurd creations such as "宇宙的恐縮" (cosmic apologies) and "お願い申し上げボムねえ" (I humbly request you explode, please). Netizens were in hysterics, declaring that "honorifics have officially become battle language."
▼ Example of a request letter
▼ Example of an apology letter
Of course, netizens quickly figured out the culprit: the user's prompt to ChatGPT was "爆敬語" (baku-keigo), intending to emphasize the use of honorifics to convey sincerity. But ChatGPT, it seems, took the "explosion" part a bit too literally, even throwing in actual bomb references. LOL.
Some users even joked that the writing style was straight out of Hunter x Hunter, reminiscent of Genthru the Bomber! Adding that single "bomb" character made the entire letter utterly nonsensical!
What really sent the internet into a spiral of laughter was ChatGPT's response to the user's request: "かしこまりボンバー" (Understood... bomber). How on earth did it interpret it that way?!
Soon, countless netizens began mimicking ChatGPT's style, ending their sentences with "bomber." Phrases like "Bomber, thank you for your continued support" and "Bomber, with all due respect" started popping up everywhere, with some even officially coining the term "baku-keigo" for this new style.
This "honorific overload AI explosion" trend transformed otherwise serious business correspondence into comedic gold, perfectly illustrating that while AI is incredibly powerful at generating language, it can go wildly off-script without proper guidance and contextual understanding.
If you're feeling adventurous, why not give ChatGPT or Grok a try? You might just get some unexpectedly hilarious results!
via： togetter