Friendly to Senior
Care · Conversation
お孫さんのご結婚、本当におめでとうございます。 — Congratulations on your grandchild's marriage. (Care · Conversation, Friendly to Senior, JLPT N3)
You
お孫さんのご結婚、本当におめでとうございます。
おまごさんのごけっこん、ほんとうにおめでとうございます。
Congratulations on your grandchild's marriage.
Romaji: Omagosan no gokekkon, hontou ni omedetou gozaimasu. / Reply Romaji: Arigatou. Shiki ni deraretara ii n da kedo, watashi wa shisetsu ni iru kara shashin de ne.
Reply
ありがとう。式に出られたら良いんだけど、私は施設にいるから写真でね。
ありがとう。しきにでられたらいいんだけど、わたしはしせつにいるからしゃしんでね。
Thank you. I wish I could attend, but I'll see them in photos since I'm at the facility.
Gesture & etiquette
Warm smile, hands gently clasped or one hand lightly touching the senior's shoulder if rapport allows. Share their joy with eye contact. If sadness slips in about not attending, acknowledge softly — do not try to 'fix' the feeling.
Family milestones — grandchild's wedding, great-grandchild's birth — are joyous topics. Offer to help with cards, video calls, or photo-sharing. Never imply they shouldn't feel sad about missing in-person attendance. Validate the mixed feeling with phrases like '嬉しいけど少し寂しいですね' (joyful but a touch lonely).