Why do the japanese call their apartments mansions?

Question

when seeing japdramas they refer their house/apartments to mansions.

aren't mansions just one gigantic house?

Answer 1

They DON'T call their homes mansions, they call them マンション. Therefore, the English word and the definition you're accustomed to no longer applies. It's a new word with a new meaning. Simple.

Answer 2

Yes, in my culture, that is what a mansion is, but who are you to impose your definition on others, and what about that terminology you use about the dramas?  I cannot even bring myself to repeat the term!

Answer 3

Because we can call it whatever we want to. What's up with the "j*p"dramas word?

Answer 4

It's an Japanese term originating from the English(UK) word "Mansion Block" used to describe higher grade apartments.

Answer 5

Because, the land is too small as you know 1/25 compared with America.

99.999% people are poor.

Average annual income is only 42000 US．D.

Most Japanese people need not to use English in daily life and that they don't want to study English.

They knew only short trips or on TV about the world.

Most Japanese people had never bought big house outside of Japan.  

Answer 6

Mansion is gigantic house in your country, and collective housing in Japan.

It's a sort of Japanese English. Do not expect all people in the world to use a word in a way you do.

Answer 7

lol I agree with onigiri girl, its マンション、literally, 'manshon' a totally new word with new meaning, which was probably taken from the english language and moulded into a japanese equivilant. they are just privately owned apartment blocks, which are often cheaper and better than the government provided ones.

But it can be quite strange to foreigners to hear the japanese refer to their homes as such, like when my boyfriend first met his friends family, they asked him what his home was like in japan, to which he replied 'Oh I live in a manshon, you know?'  Of course they were like, Oh yes yes, we know what a mansion is.. secretly thinking, 'gosh, this    guy must be rich'

Answer 8

It is just a translation thing. It is unclear how it started. My guess is it was kind of a marketing thing that got applied to the places and became the norm. Just remember that in Japan a word may be English or sound similar to English but it does not mean that it will be used the same as it is in English.

Also when translating things people sometimes take liberties. Because of the language differences sometimes people change the literal meaning to make things flow better or to illustrate a point they are trying to make better.

p.s. Do not say Japdrama's. j*p is a racist term and is upsetting to many. Japanese Drama's or JDrama's is better.