Telling neighbors their music is too loud: Negotiating quiet hours

🇯🇵 [すみません。] is the standard soft opener when you need to complain to a neighbor. It sounds much gentler than starting with the problem directly.

💬 Put [の] between two nouns and the first one describes the second: [おとなりの音楽] is "the neighbor's music" or "the music next door." You can reuse this with other place words too, like [上の部屋] "the room upstairs."

🇯🇵 In complaints, [ちょっと] often softens what you say rather than just meaning "a little." It helps you sound less confrontational.

💬 [大きい] usually means "big," but with sound it means "loud." The same adjective shifts with context: [声が大きい] is "the voice is loud," not "big."

🇯🇵 [ちょっと大きいです。] is much softer than saying [うるさいです]. If you're speaking to a neighbor you don't know well, this gentler wording usually lands better.