That’s a long story.

2024年10月9日

A: I was surprised to hear that you’re leaving the company.
B: Oh, I’m sorry I haven’t told you.
A: Can I ask you why?
B: That’s a long story. You know my boss, right? He is the main reason, and…

In this situation, what should you say ‘that’s a long story’ in Japanese?

Casual

B：話はなせば長ながくなるんだけどね。私わたしの上司じょうし知しってるよね？一番ばんの原因げんいんは彼かれで…

Note: This is not a word-for-word translation.

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A word-for-word translation

B：それは長ながい話はなしです。私わたしの上司じょうしは知しってますよね？彼かれが一番ばんの原因げんいんで…

It’s grammatically correct and natural, but we don’t say that in this situation.
話はなせば長ながくなるんだけど is the common Japanese phrase and we sometimes leave out 話はなせば.

If you’re not willing to tell them the reason in a similar situation, you can say まあいろいろあってね.
It’s a convenient expression and most decent people would understand your feelings and stop asking.