Konnichiwa, dear friends.
Are you starting to learn Japanese on your own? I propose today to talk about Japanese pronouns.
Let's start with the pronoun "I", which in Japanese sounds like watashi.
You can write it with the character 私 or hiragana if you don't already know the characters. This pronoun is written like this: わたし.
Watashi is the universal “I”. It can be used by both men and women. If you are in some kind of formal setting, you can use the word watakushi. This is the same as watashi, but will sound more polite. This word is written in Hiragana as follows: わたくし. The hieroglyph will be the same.
If you are a man, you can use a pronoun like boku, which also means “I”, but is purely masculine. This word is written in Hiragana ぼく, its hieroglyph is: 僕.
The next pronoun is “OH”, which sounds like kare in Japanese. Its character is 彼, and it is written in hiragana as かれ.
But there is also a synonym for this pronoun, and it sounds like ano hito, which literally means “THAT PERSON”, and we often translate it as “HE”. Accordingly, it is written in hieroglyphs as あの人, in hiragana - あのひと.
The pronoun "SHE" in Japanese is kanojo. The hieroglyph is 彼女, the hiragana is かのじょ.
“THEY” in Japanese sounds like karera, this Japanese pronoun is written in hiragana as follows: かれら. The hieroglyph is 彼ら.
You can use a synonym for this pronoun anohitotachi, where tachi is the suffix plural and is sometimes added to some words to show the plural. With the hieroglyph this word is written あの人たち, in hiragana - あのひとたち.
A pronoun such as “YOU” will sound like kimi in Japanese; it is written in hiragana as follows: きみ, its character is 君.
“YOU” in Japanese is anata, the hieroglyph is 貴方, and the hiragana is あなた.
But in fact, the pronouns “you and you” are not used that often in life. Basically, in Japan, when addressing each other, they use their first or last name + the nominative suffix san (~さん). Using a surname shows that you are in a formal relationship with the person you are addressing. And this treatment is more common in Japan. For example: Tanaka san (たなかさん) or Nakamura san (なかむらさん). The address name + san is also used. If you address a person by name + さん, then this will mean that you are on friendly terms with this person.
Well, friends, today we went over the basic pronouns of the Japanese language. If these were new words for you, be sure to write them down in your notebook or dictionary. And if you are already familiar with basic grammar, then try to make sentences using these pronouns Japanese. If grammar is still unfamiliar to you, then simply repeat these words to remember them. Another important part of Japanese grammar is cases. You will learn everything about Japanese cases by going through.
I hope our article will help you take your first steps in learning Japanese. Write your suggestions in the comments. I will be glad to see you in my lessons. See you again!
Unlike the Russian language, Japanese has many forms of personal pronouns “I”, “you” and the like, differing not only in pronunciation and spelling, but also in semantic load. This diversity stems from the traditional politeness system that underlies the Japanese language. And, accordingly, the main difference between the various forms of pronouns lies in the shade of politeness.
Here I tried to give all those pronouns that can be heard in anime and, in general, all those that I myself have heard about, and give their expanded meanings, based on my modest knowledge.
Watashi - general form with neutral shade politeness.
Watakushi is a higher form of "watashi". Used mainly by women, namely priests, aristocrats and princesses ^_^
Ore is a form of “I” that emphasizes the masculinity of the speaker, and is quite impolite. It is used, as you might guess, mainly by men.
Boku is a polite and respectful form, usually used by boys.
Atashi is the feminine form of "watashi", characteristic of female speech.
Uchi - translated as "my house", a polite form used by women. At least I have never seen men use it.
Washi is a form that expresses some superiority of the speaker over the interlocutor. Used mainly by older people.
Onore - used as return form“himself”, “your own”, etc. Jibun - also used only as reflexive pronouns “my”, “my”, etc.
Sessha is a very polite archaic form that belittles the speaker, meaning something like "this unworthy one."
Ware is a somewhat archaic form. As far as I know, it expresses the superiority of the speaker. In nim you can hear how sorcerers use it in spells.
Waga - “my”, “our”, “own”.
Arakajime - "I", "myself".
Wagami - "myself". In addition, in Japanese speech one can often find talking about oneself in the third person, which is especially typical for children's speech.
In general, the Japanese try to avoid using second-person pronouns and prefer to replace them with their name or various polite titles. In addition, the sentence structure in Japanese makes it easy to avoid addressing the interlocutor directly. But nevertheless, among the second person pronouns there is no less diversity than among the first ^_^
Anata is the most common option, not the most polite, but not rude either.
Anta is the feminine version of "anata".
Omae is a more polite option, but more familiar.
Kimi - a polite address to inferiors.
Otaku is a very polite form, but practically not used.
Onore is a very rude and impolite version of "you".
Kisama - treatment is not only rude, but also offensive, equating to a swear word. For this they can give you a punch in the teeth ^_^
Temae is also an offensive Murge variant with an expression of contempt. Typically used when addressing an enemy.
Wagakimi - "my lord".
Maro - "you" is apparently an archaic form, because V modern language I've never heard this word.
Nare is an archaic form.
“He”, “She” - third person.
Kare - "he".
Kanojo - "she".
Ano hito - "that person", a neutral polite expression for a third person. (Options - kono hito, sono hito)
Yatsu is a rather rude and impolite reference to someone.
Aitsu is more polite than the previous one, but also too familiar.
“We”, “You”, “They” and generally the plural.
IN general case The plural is formed by adding special suffixes to pronouns, for example, the suffix "-tachi", which denotes the addition of others to the speaker, for example:
Watashi-tachi - "I and others", i.e. "We".
Anata-tachi - "you and the rest", i.e. "you", etc. The more polite suffix "-kata" (can also be read as "-gata") is also used, literally meaning "your side". But in addition, there are a number of pronouns specifically for the plural.
Wareware - "we" military uniform, can also be used as the royal "we".
Warera - “we”, “our”.
Oira is a polite form used by monks.
Orera - "we", masculine form.
Warehito - "me and the rest."
Wagahou - “we”, “from our side”.
Wagatou - "our group".
Wagahai - "me and my team."
Gojin - “we”, “our people”.
Bokura - "we", a masculine not very polite form.
Karera - “they”, usually about men.
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The incompleteness of the list is due to dialect differences. The pronoun “it” has no direct equivalent in Japanese.
Japanese possessive pronouns formed from personal ones using the case particle “but” (Japanese の): watashi no = mine, kanojo no = hers. You can add “but” to any of the personal pronouns and get a possessive.
In Japanese, just like in Russian, there is only one reflexive pronoun - “jibun” (Japanese: 自分), which is almost completely similar to the Russian “self”. It is worth noting that "oneself" is not the only meaning of the word "jibun": the word is sometimes used to mean "I" (mainly by men), and in some dialects to mean "you".
The pronoun "jibun" should not be confused with attributive pronoun"jisin" (Japanese: 自身), which translates as “himself.” The construction "jibun jishin", which is sometimes presented as a separate reflexive pronoun, is actually translated accordingly as "oneself."
They are given in interrogative form, but interrogative and positive pronouns differ only in the presence/absence of a question mark.
The affectionate and gentle “you” is usually used when addressing beloved girls or very young girls. Men do not use language towards each other, although a boss or teacher can afford such treatment to those of junior rank and age. In addition, “Kimi” is sometimes used by security guards and police with teenagers.
お前 － おまえ － Ohmae － Omae
Rough and masculine “you”. Used by men in informal groups. If your interlocutor is shy and polite, he may be embarrassed by such treatment even if you are friends. Calling "omae" to to a stranger may end in a quarrel. It is not used for women, although it very much depends on the woman’s behavior.
おぬし － Onusi
The old samurai form of "you", an unkind address. It was often used to refer to rivals or simply suspicious individuals. Now you can find them in films, anime and manga about samurai.
てめ － Teme － Topic
A very aggressively offensive form of “you”. It’s even better to translate this as “Hey, you!”, “Oh, you!”, this is how they address offenders or violators, often translated as a curse: “Oh, you! Bastard!" although this is not true.
Last time we found out... 12 different ways! 🙂 It’s the same story with how to say “you” or “you” in Japanese. There are a lot of options. They all depend on the age, social status of our interlocutor, how close you are with him, etc.
Let's figure it out:
1) Rule number 1: don't use "anata" too often!
あなた - anata - you, you (polite version of address)
It is used when we know practically nothing about a person. The Japanese use this word very rarely, and if you don't want to sound like a textbook sentence, you better listen to this rule.
Japanese wives use the word anata to address their husbands. In this context, it can be translated as “dear.”
Why then do all the textbooks use this word?
In textbooks, this word is used (rather than omitted) to help you better understand sentence structure in Japanese.
2) Rule number 2: if you want to emphasize that you are on friendly terms with a person, call him by name.
This The best way communicate with a good friend.
You can add suffixes さん(=san)、ちゃん(=chan)、君(=kun) and others to the name.
さん(=san)- politeness suffix. By default, with people we don't know too well, we use
his. Can be added to both the surname and the given name.
さま(=sama)— a very polite version of さん(=san).
ちゃん(=chan)- is added to the names of girls. Emphasizes their cuteness 🙂 Thanks to this, boys often turn to ちゃん (=chan) to girls they feel sympathy for.
君(=kun)- we use it with the names of boys who are equal in age to us or younger than us.
One way or another, any suffix has a connotation of remoteness. If you are communicating with a close friend, then you do not need to add any ranks or kuns to him.
3) Informal variants of “you”:
君（kimi）: Mainly used by men with people of equal age or younger. 君(kimi) often
used by young men in relation to their girlfriends.
お前（omae）: used in very informal situations with younger people. Rough, aggressive and approachable
only to certain “rough” situations.
あんた (anta）： shortened version of anata, informal, rude version.
The following three variants of “you” should be used if you want to thoroughly rake the guys on the street or pretend to be an anime character:
kisama – きさま （貴様)
temee – てめえ （手前）
onore – 己
All three options are rude and aggressive in nature. You've probably heard at least one of them in anime or dramas, where they belong :)
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Which version of “you” in Japanese to use is up to you! But remember: it’s better not to overuse anatas, address them by name and listen carefully to your Japanese interlocutors, because they always
will correctly set the level of politeness for your communication.
Good luck to all beginners and those continuing to learn Japanese!
Feel free to ask questions and suggest topics for new lessons in the comments.
