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This question made me remember something I'd been wanting to ask.

In general, また今度 seems to be understood as a farewell ("See you later") without a later time to meet defined.

However, a Japanese friend once said, "In my area, it's strange to say また今度 unless you already have decided on a time to meet again."

Does anyone have an idea in what areas/dialects in Japan this may hold?

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Anonymous
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    Naturally, I am not familiar with all of our dialects, but if such a region existed, there would be so much misunderstanding between that region and the rest of the country. That is because "we" in the other regions use 「また今度」 very often when we DO NOT really want to meet the other person again. –  Oct 03 '14 at 23:00
  • Hmm, from my google search of `"また今度意味"`, it does seem like また今度 is often used in 社交辞令 (i.e. polite/diplomatic way of saying things) for refusal, like 非回答者 said. Now, if you google `"また今度" "社交辞令"`, you'll see a lot of questions (esp. relationship-related) about whether the person saying また今度 means it literally, or if it's just 社交辞令. What I got out from it is that it's highly context-dependent. – 3 to 5 business days Oct 04 '14 at 10:39

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"また"+"今度" can be used to indicate a specific time you will do something again.

For example, if you played soccer last Saturday and during the week a friend asks what you are going to do this weekend, a conversation could go like this:

A: 今週末、何をする？ (What are you doing this weekend?)
B: また今度の土曜日にサッカーをする。(I'm going to play soccer again this Saturday.)

Note, if I was going to be technical, that there is a difference between using the words "また" and "今度" together and using "また今度" as an idiom. My guess is your friend is talking about "また"+"今度" and not "また今度". It is certainly possible that the idiom doesn't make sense in his/her region and dialect.

So in your friend's region, this usage might be the expected usage and not the idiom usages in this question or this question.

For reference, I lived in the 甲信越 region for 4.5 years and have been living in the 東京 area for over 3 and both usages are acceptable.

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