How do Japanese people express “NO”?

In Japan, we don’t often say “NO” directly and it’s difficult for foreign people to understand what we really mean.
Here are 3 examples of how we express “NO” in conversations.

1. Just smile and don’t respond

If you say “Please invite me to your house” and your Japanese friend just smile and doesn't respond, or say “OK, someday” and never talks about it again, it means “NO”.

2. I’ll think about it / I’ll check my schedule

These expressions are often used in business scenes. If they only use these phrases and don’t give you any specific schedule, such as, “I’ll call you back tomorrow” or “ I suppose we can proceed if my boss says yes”, their answers are in most part “NO”.

3. Sorry I’m busy

Although many Japanese people are really busy, this phrase tends to be used to express “NO”. We like to use this phrase because we don’t need to explain the real reason and hurt someone’s feelings.