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November 30, 2022
Japanese Pronouns

Japanese Pronouns: How to say ā€œIā€ and “you” In Japanese

Japanese pronouns a list of pronouns and how to use them

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 use—even 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 person’s name with an honorific such as さま or a title such as å…ˆē”Ÿ(恛悓恛恄) (teacher, doctor, or other authorities) or éƒØé•·(恶恔悇恆) (section boss). Saying ć€Œć‚ćŖćŸć€ 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 ā€œIā€ 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‚«ćƒ¼ćƒ«ć•ć‚“ćÆåŗ—(みせ)に蔌(恄)ćć¾ć—ćŸć€‚ćć“ć§ć€ćƒ‘ćƒ³ć‚’č²·(恋)ć„ć¾ć—ćŸć€‚

Carl went to the store. There, (he) purchased bread.

Vocabulary

  • Once the subject is clear, Carl, ā€œheā€ 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:

腹減(はらへ)ć£ćŸć€‚

(I’m) hungry.

眠(恭悀)恄怂

(I’m) sleepy.

  • Adding the suffix, たご, to the first person pronoun, makes it plural. The kanji is é”(たご).
    For example

 ē§(悏恟恗)

I; me

 ē§(悏恟恗)たご

we; us

ć‚ćŖćŸ

You (used with peers and those under your social standing)

ć‚ćŖćŸćŸć”

You (all)

君(ććæ)

You (informal)

君(ććæ)たご

You (all)

  • 悉 like たご is a pluralizing suffix. It is most often used with å½¼(恋悌) (he) to make it "they" (third person plural, mixture of males and females)

å½¼(恋悌)悉

they

  • While you can say 彼儳(ć‹ć®ć˜ć‚‡)たご when the room is full of women or girls, the norm is to use å½¼(恋悌)悉 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§(悏恟恗) for ā€œIā€ and ć‚ćŖćŸ for ā€œyou,ā€ but not only would that be boring, in some situations it might actually be rude.

ć‚ćŖćŸ, 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 私(悏恟恗) too often can make one sound conceited.

Here are a few ways to get around this:

INSTEAD OF ē§(悏恟恗)

  • Point to yourself when referring to yourself and simply don't say a pronoun.

INSTEAD OF ć‚ćŖćŸ

  • Use the person’s name with 恕悓. 

ē”±ē¾Ž(ゆみ)ć•ć‚“ć€ć©ć†ę€(恊悂)ć„ć¾ć™ć‹ļ¼Ÿ

What do you think, Yumi?

  • Use the person’s title: å…ˆē”Ÿ(恛悓恛恄) (for teachers, doctors, pastors, and other authorities and professionals); 社長(ć—ć‚ƒć”ć‚‡ć†) (for bosses or company presidents)

å…ˆē”Ÿ(恛悓恛恄)ć€ćƒˆć‚¤ćƒ¬ć«č”Œ(恄)ć£ć¦ć‚‚ć„ć„ć§ć™ć‹ļ¼Ÿ

Teacher, may I go to the bathroom?

  • ćć”ć‚‰ literally means ā€œthereā€ and can be used to refer to your listeners

INSTEAD OF PLURAL PRONOUN

  • Refer to everyone as みんな or みなさん

In short, if you can avoid using a pronoun whether through context or substitute, do it.


Now, let’s look at actual pronouns!


+ Everyday Use Pronouns

First Person 一人称(恄恔恫悓恗悇恆)

私(悏恟恗) 

I; me
[formal or informal; gender-neutral]

恆恔 

one’s own…
[usually used with 恮 to talk about one’s household: ć†ć”ć®ēŠ¬(恄恬)  my (our) dog]

Second Personć€€äŗŒäŗŗē§°(恫恫悓恗悇恆)

ć‚ćŖćŸ

you
[usually said to people on a similar or lower social status; often used by wives to address their husbands like ā€œdearā€ or ā€œsweetheartā€]

君(ććæ)

you
[informal; used among friends; it's the same kanji 君(恏悓) as the name suffix -kun. Often used with 僕(ć¼ć).]

Third Person 三人称(恕悓恫悓恗悇恆)(恕悓恫悓恗悇恆)

彼儳(ć‹ć®ć˜ć‚‡) 

she; her
[can also be used to mean ā€œgirlfriend.ā€]

å½¼(恋悌)

he; him
[can also be used to mean ā€œboyfriend.ā€ å½¼ę°(恋悌恗) always means ā€œboyfriend.ā€]


+ Formal Pronouns

私(悏恟恏恗)

(悏恟恏恗)怐悏恟恏恗怑 I; me [more formal then just 悏恟恗; uses the same kanji as 悏恟恗; gender-neutral]

ꈑ(悏悌)

(悏悌) I; me [literary style; formal]

ꈑ(悏悌)悉

 we [literary style]

ꈑ(悏)恌

my (or can be plural: our as in ꈑ(悏)が社(恗悃)our company) [gender neutral]

ꈑ怅(悏悌悏悌)

(悏悌悏悌) we [formal; used when speaking on behalf of a company or group]


+ Pronouns for Women

恂恟恗

 I [a shortened form of 悏恟恗 used commonly by women]


+ Pronouns for Men

äæŗ(恊悌)

(恊悌) I [gives a sense of masculinity; can be rude in some situations]

僕(ć¼ć)

(ć¼ć) I [used by males of all ages, but particularly with boys. Can be used when calling a boy whose name you don’t know: ā€œhey, kidā€ or ā€œhey, squirt.ā€ The kanji åƒ•(しもべ)【しもべ】 means ā€œservantā€]

悏恗

 I [often used by older males]


+ Archaic Samurai Edo Period ā€œthe fun-but-kinda-uselessā€ Pronouns 

あっし

 I; me [Edo period slang for 私](悏恟恗)

ꋙ者(ć›ć£ć—ć‚ƒ)

 I; me [used by males; samurai pronoun; the kanji means ā€œclumsy personā€]

ꈑ(悏)が輩(はい)

(はい) I; me [used by males; has a nuance of arrogance; Natsume Soseki’s famous book, I am a Cat, is called 吾輩(ć‚ćŒćÆć„)は猫(恭恓)恧恂悋.]

Ꟑ(恝悌恌恗)

(恝悌恌恗)I; me [used by males; used by samurai as a first person pronoun, but literally means some unknown person]

余(悈)

(悈) I [used by males] Say this after a good meal:  ä½™(悈)は満足(ć¾ć‚“ćžć)恘悃怂 I am satisfied.

å·±(ćŠć®ć‚Œ)

 I; oneself [used by males; humble when used as first person pronoun, but hostile when used as a second person pronoun (see below)]

ę±(ćŖć‚“ć˜)

(ćŖć‚“ć˜)you [used by males and females]


+ Pronouns for When Upset

恂悓恟

 you [rude; a shortened version of ć‚ćŖćŸ; used when angry]

ćŠå‰(まえ)

 you [can be rude or can show familiarity (husband to his wife, for example).]

ć¦ć‚ćˆ

 you [rude; used when angry; used by males; also てまえ; kanji: ę‰‹å‰(てまえ)]

貓様(ćć•ć¾)

you [rude; historically, this was a formal pronoun the kanji, 貓様(ćć•ć¾) meaning an honorable person]

恓恄恤

 him; her [informal; implies contempt; used to refer to someone nearby]

恂恄恤

 him; her [informal; implies contempt; used to refer to someone away from the speaker and listener.]

å·±(ćŠć®ć‚Œ)

(ćŠć®ć‚Œ)you [used by males; humble when used as first person pronoun, but hostile when used as a second person pronoun]


+ Less Common Pronouns

恊悉

 I [rural feel; used in anime or manga such as Crayon Shinchan and Dragon Ball characters]

ꈑ(悏悌)悉

 we [informal; like たご, 悉 is a pluralizing suffix that usually shows familiarity]


+ Plural Suffixes

ļ½žćŸć”

 [informal: 私(悏恟恗)たご we; 君(ććæ)たご you; can also be added to names, groups, or places: é’ęœØ(恂恊恍)ć•ć‚“ćŸć” the Aoki’s (residence)]

ļ½žć‚‰

 [informal: å½¼(恋悌)悉 they; 恂恄恤悉 they; ]

ļ½žćØć‚‚

 [humble; changes to 恩悂; ć‚ćŸćć—ć©ć‚‚]

ļ½žć‹ćŸ

 [formal; kanji is ę–¹(恋恟);changes to がた; ć‚ćŖćŸćŒćŸ you (plural; more formal than ć‚ćŖćŸćŸć”]


+ Other

あの人(ひと) 

he; she
[literally, that person; informal to formal]

あの方(恋恟)

he; she
[literally, that person; formal / polite]

あの子(恓) 

she
[literally, that child, but usually refers to a girl or young woman]

ꈑ(悏)が社(恗悃)

our company
[used when representing one’s 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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