
Japanese Pronouns
IMPORTANT: Japanese is famous for dropping pronouns.
Once the topic or subject of a conversation is established, it is awkward to continually use the pronoun. And yet, ironically, there are tons of pronouns available for useāeven more when considering dialects.
English has only a few pronouns and it would be awkward to not use them
Japanese has tons of pronouns to choose from, but it is often awkward to use them!
Makoto+ Members, click here to download all the sound files and an Anki flashcard deck just for this lesson. Practice makes perfect!
As mentioned above, you could, and in some cases should, avoid using pronouns altogether.
- When the context is clear, drop the pronoun.
- When speaking to a superior, it is best to use the personās name with an honorific such as ćć¾ or a title such as å ē (teacher, doctor, or other authorities) or éØé· (section boss). Saying ćććŖćć to your boss, for example, would be considered to berude.
That being said, a few well-placed pronouns can enliven a conversation.
Want to sound like a sixteenth-century samurai warrior? There are pronouns for that. Want to sound more masculine? No problem. Wanna sound like a little girl? Sure.
This is one reason why Japanese is so much fun. You just can't do this easily with English.
General Notes on Pronouns
- When one says āIā in English no information is conveyed other than that it is first person singular. In Japanese, however, most pronouns also carry cultural or social status connotations. See this lesson from the anime Your Name for a funny example of this.
- As long as the meaning is clear, Japanese usually omits the pronoun.
For example:
ć«ć¼ć«ćććÆåŗć«č”ćć¾ćććććć§ććć³ćč²·ćć¾ććć
Carl went to the store. There, (he) purchased bread.
Vocabulary
- Once the subject is clear, Carl, āheā is unnecessary in the second sentence even though it is required in English.
- Single words or short sentences usually drop the pronoun as it is assumed the speaker is referring to him or herself.
For example:
č ¹ęøć£ćć
(Iām) hungry.
ē ćć
(Iām) sleepy.
- Adding the suffix, ćć”, to the first person pronoun, makes it plural. The kanji is é.
For example
ē§
I; me
ē§ćć”
we; us
ććŖć
You (used with peers and those under your social standing)
ććŖććć”
You (all)
å
You (informal)
åćć”
You (all)
- ć like ćć” is a pluralizing suffix. It is most often used with å½¼ (he) to make it "they" (third person plural, mixture of males and females)
å½¼ć
they
- While you can say 彼儳ćć” when the room is full of women or girls, the norm is to use å½¼ć for mixed groups or situations when the gender makeup of the group is unknown.
How to NOT Use Pronouns
You can get by your entire life with only using ē§ for āIā and ććŖć for āyou,ā but not only would that be boring, in some situations it might actually be rude.
ććŖć, for example, can, in some cases, be rude since it implies you are stating the listener is equal to or inferior to you. And saying ē§ too often can make one sound conceited.
Here are a few ways to get around this:
INSTEAD OF ē§
- Point to yourself when referring to yourself and simply don't say a pronoun.
INSTEAD OF ććŖć
- Use the personās name with ćć.
ē±ē¾ćććć©ćęćć¾ććļ¼
What do you think, Yumi?
- Use the personās title: å ē (for teachers, doctors, pastors, and other authorities and professionals); ē¤¾é· (for bosses or company presidents)
å ēććć¤ć¬ć«č”ć£ć¦ćććć§ććļ¼
Teacher, may I go to the bathroom?
- ćć”ć literally means āthereā and can be used to refer to your listeners
INSTEAD OF PLURAL PRONOUN
- Refer to everyone as ćæććŖ or ćæćŖćć
In short, if you can avoid using a pronoun whether through context or substitute, do it.
Now, letās look at actual pronouns!
+ Everyday Use Pronouns
First Personćäøäŗŗē§°
ē§
I; me
[formal or informal; gender-neutral]
ćć”
oneās ownā¦
[usually used with ć® to talk about oneās household: ćć”ć®ē¬ my (our) dog]
Second Personćäŗäŗŗē§°
ććŖć
you
[usually said to people on a similar or lower social status; often used by wives to address their husbands like ādearā or āsweetheartā]
å
you
[informal; used among friends; it's the same kanji å as the name suffix -kun. Often used with å.]
Third Personćäøäŗŗē§°
彼儳
she; her
[can also be used to mean āgirlfriend.ā]
å½¼
he; him
[can also be used to mean āboyfriend.ā å½¼ę° always means āboyfriend.ā]
+ Formal Pronouns
ē§
ćććććć I; me [more formal then just ććć; uses the same kanji as ććć; gender-neutral]
ę
I; me [literary style; formal]
ęć
we [literary style]
ęć
my (or can be plural: our as in ęć社our company) [gender neutral]
ęć
we [formal; used when speaking on behalf of a company or group]
+ Pronouns for Women
ććć
I [a shortened form of ććć used commonly by women]
+ Pronouns for Men
äæŗ
I [gives a sense of masculinity; can be rude in some situations]
å
I [used by males of all ages, but particularly with boys. Can be used when calling a boy whose name you donāt know: āhey, kidā or āhey, squirt.ā The kanji åćććć¹ć means āservantā]
ćć
I [often used by older males]
+ Archaic Samurai Edo Period āthe fun-but-kinda-uselessā Pronouns
ćć£ć
I; me [Edo period slang for ē§]
ęč
I; me [used by males; samurai pronoun; the kanji means āclumsy personā]
ęć輩
I; me [used by males; has a nuance of arrogance; Natsume Sosekiās famous book, I am a Cat, is called å¾č¼©ćÆē«ć§ćć.]
ę
I; me [used by males; used by samurai as a first person pronoun, but literally means some unknown person]
ä½
I [used by males] Say this after a good meal: ä½ćÆęŗč¶³ććć I am satisfied.
å·±
I; oneself [used by males; humble when used as first person pronoun, but hostile when used as a second person pronoun (see below)]
ę±
you [used by males and females]
+ Pronouns for When Upset
ććć
you [rude; a shortened version of ććŖć; used when angry]
ćå
you [can be rude or can show familiarity (husband to his wife, for example).]
ć¦ćć
you [rude; used when angry; used by males; also ć¦ć¾ć; kanji: ęå]
貓ę§
you [rude; historically, this was a formal pronoun the kanji, č²“ę§ meaning an honorable person]
ććć¤
him; her [informal; implies contempt; used to refer to someone nearby]
ććć¤
him; her [informal; implies contempt; used to refer to someone away from the speaker and listener.]
å·±
you [used by males; humble when used as first person pronoun, but hostile when used as a second person pronoun]
+ Less Common Pronouns
ćć
I [rural feel; used in anime or manga such as Crayon Shinchan and Dragon Ball characters]
ęć
we [informal; like ćć”, ć is a pluralizing suffix that usually shows familiarity]
+ Plural Suffixes
ļ½ćć”
[informal: ē§ćć” we; åćć” you; can also be added to names, groups, or places: éęØćććć” the Aokiās (residence)]
ļ½ć
[informal: å½¼ć they; ććć¤ć they; ]
ļ½ćØć
[humble; changes to ć©ć; ććććć©ć]
ļ½ćć
[formal; kanji is ę¹;changes to ćć; ććŖććć you (plural; more formal than ććŖććć”]
+ Other
ćć®äŗŗ
he; she
[literally, that person; informal to formal]
ćć®ę¹
he; she
[literally, that person; formal / polite]
ćć®å
she
[literally, that child, but usually refers to a girl or young woman]
ęć社
our company
[used when representing oneās own company]
Makoto+ Members, click here to download all the sound files and an Anki flashcard deck just for this lesson. Practice makes perfect!
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