# Japanese personal pronouns



## tanzhang

What are the personal pronouns in Japanese?? Please anyone?? Thanks (^_^)
Please write them in Roman letters, I do not know the symbols or the hirigana or ummm katakana I believe.. Ok thanks again(^_^)


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## octoberthehottie

They are not usually used, however, they are...

watakushi/ I, me (formal)
watakushitachi/ we, us
watashi/ I, me (informal)
atashi/ I, me (informal, female)
anata/ you
anatatachi/ you (plural)
anatagata you (polite)
kare/ he, him
karera/ they, them, (all male or male and female)
kanojo/ she, her
kanojotachi/ they, them (females)
kanojora/ they, them (female)

I picked up a grammar book at a book store for 7 bucks, quite useful, lol.  Keep in mind, in Japanese conversation, they usually don't use pronouns, if they are speaking of themselves they leave watashi/watakushi out and everyone just understands that you are speaking of yourself.  Instead of saying you or he/she, it is proper to use the persons name followed by -san, or -sensei, for anyone of achieved success.  I would guess informally you could leave -san off if you are speaking to friends....


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## Mytskine

The 12 pronouns given above are a good begining, but there are many others. I would especially add these frequent ones :

ore / I, me (informal) the "I" that young people mainly use
boku / I, me (mainly boys ?)
omae / you (informal)
kareshi / he 
aitsu / he (agressive)

There's also anta, kisama, wale, walewale... And sometimes, they can mean more than a simple pronoum. For instance "kareshi" might be translated with "boyfriend" instead of "he/him".

Beware that my knowledge of japanese is far from perfect.


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## tanzhang

octoberthehottie said:


> They are not usually used, however, they are...
> 
> watakushi/ I, me (formal)
> watakushitachi/ we, us
> watashi/ I, me (informal)
> atashi/ I, me (informal, female)
> anata/ you
> anatatachi/ you (plural)
> anatagata you (polite)
> kare/ he, him
> karera/ they, them, (all male or male and female)
> kanojo/ she, her
> kanojotachi/ they, them (females)
> kanojora/ they, them (female)
> 
> I picked up a grammar book at a book store for 7 bucks, quite useful, lol.  Keep in mind, in Japanese conversation, they usually don't use pronouns, if they are speaking of themselves they leave watashi/watakushi out and everyone just understands that you are speaking of yourself.  Instead of saying you or he/she, it is proper to use the persons name followed by -san, or -sensei, for anyone of achieved success.  I would guess informally you could leave -san off if you are speaking to friends....


 
Thank you very much(^_^) that's interesting about leaving out the "I" - watashi in a conversation... Thanx again(^_^)


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## tanzhang

Mytskine said:


> The 12 pronouns given above are a good begining, but there are many others. I would especially add these frequent ones :
> 
> ore / I, me (informal) the "I" that young people mainly use
> boku / I, me (mainly boys ?)
> omae / you (informal)
> kareshi / he
> aitsu / he (agressive)
> 
> There's also anta, kisama, wale, walewale... And sometimes, they can mean more than a simple pronoum. For instance "kareshi" might be translated with "boyfriend" instead of "he/him".
> 
> Beware that my knowledge of japanese is far from perfect.


  Oh thank you too(^_^) Oh about the wale and walewale, what are they? I thought the japanese does not use the letter L? or do they?? but thank you very much once again(^_^)


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## Mytskine

> Oh about the wale and walewale, what are they? I thought the japanese does not use the letter L? or do they?


Japanese don't use the letter L, they use kanji and kana. But you're right, I should have written "ware" instead of "wale". The main romaji systems use this transcription, and the prononciation is between "L" and "R". The right word is 我 (われ).

If I recall it right, "ware" is a kind of martial "I". "wareware" is a plural form (an officer speaking to soldiers would use "wareware").


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## tanzhang

Mytskine said:


> Japanese don't use the letter L, they use kanji and kana. But you're right, I should have written "ware" instead of "wale". The main romaji systems use this transcription, and the prononciation is between "L" and "R". The right word is 我 (われ).
> 
> If I recall it right, "ware" is a kind of martial "I". "wareware" is a plural form (an officer speaking to soldiers would use "wareware").



Oh I see, thank you... Arigatou(^_^)


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## SpiceMan

wareware is a formal "us". It's what a politician would use as "us" to refer to his own party, or a corporation representative in a press release, etc.


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## youtin

How about 我　(WA), which has the same kanji as WARE? I often see it in these contexts:

我が国　(WA GA　KUNI　- our country)

我が家　(WA GA YA - our house/home/family?)

So it seems 我　(WARE, WA) can be WE/US/OUR depending on the context.

Some more pronouns :

KIMI　- you (depending on the status of the person saying it, could be polite or impolite)
ANTA - shortened version of ANATA, but NOT polite!
TEMAE/TEMEe - YOU, but this is almost a cuss word used when someone is pissed off with somebody.


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## Flaminius

> So it seems 我　(WARE, WA) can be WE/US/OUR depending on the context.



Actually, _ware_ and _wa_ are different pronouns, although derived from the same root, _wa_.  我が国 (wa-ga kuni) and 我が家 (wa-ga ya) are fossilised expressions.  Note the use of _-ga_ as a genitive marker.  This is almost exclusively found in the set expression "wa-ga."  Interestingly, other possible renditions such as "*ware-no," "*ware-ga," and "*wa-no" are incorrect, at least in Modern Japanese.  Also, _wa_ is not used in nominative and accusative to my knowledge Modern Japanese (*wa-wa, *wa-ga, *wa-o, etc).


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## kyn

"Watashi" is the safest word for "I" , right? So when can I use "boku" and "ore"? 
Can I use "boku" when talking to my teacher or someone older? I was taught to use "watashi" all the time, but I don't want to be too formal when talking to my friends or someone my age or someone I know pretty well

And can I use "kimi" for everyone, both girls and boys, as long as they are my age or smaller?


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## bruno321

This is a question that interests me too. And I would add: when would you use "omae"? "Anta"? And I believe "temae"'s use is strictly insulting, as is "kisama", isn't it? "Anata" would be the equivalent of "watashi"?

Also, for females: when to use "atashi"? "atai"?

And I believe the use of "washi", "ware", "wareware", "jibun", is quite clear to me, but maybe a native person could explain their uses with more detail.

Oh, and what about "anatagata"? Is it the same as "anatatachi" but more formal?

I had never asked so many questions in one post


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## Flaminius

kyn said:


> So when can I use "boku" and "ore"?   Can I use "boku" when talking to my teacher or someone older?


_Boku_ can be used by men in casual contexts such as conversation with family or peers.  _Ore_ is a more familiar pronoun.  Use it with caution, since it often connotes contempt that's bred by familiarity and holds the speaker in unreasonably high self-regard.  I usually hear this pronoun used between very close friends (who are in "ore-omae" terms) or when one is scolding or protesting the other.  Female believers of freedom of choice may be enraged to know that _ore_, as well as _boku_, is for men only.  If you don't believe me, go ahead at your own risk.  But don't forget to come back and tell the strange reactions that it will have incurred  .



> And can I use "kimi" for everyone, both girls and boys, as long as they are my age or smaller?


I won't use _kimi_, at least consciously.  Personal pronouns hold referents in lower regards than their real names.  I myself wonder how this tendency came into existence.  Anyway, to be on the safer side, use your interlocutor's name or nickname all the time.


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## bruno321

Also, what about onore and uchi? They aren't mentioned on this thread.


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## Flaminius

bruno321 said:


> This is a question that interests me too. And I would add: when would you use "omae"? "Anta"?


As sightly mentioned above, _omae_ is a very intimate pronoun whose first person counter part is _ore_.  _Anta_ is less intimate but far more so than _anata_.


> And I believe "temae"'s use is strictly insulting, as is "kisama", isn't it? "Anata" would be the equivalent of "watashi"?


 Yes, to all the questions.  (I wonder if you meant てめえ by "temae."  I'd write _temē_ or _temee_ when I cannot use macron.)



> Also, for females: when to use "atashi"? "atai"?


_Atashi_ is less formal than _watashi_ but the difference is insignificant.  I'd even go so far as to say that they are phonological free variations.  _Atai_ may be encountered in novels, period plays and _manga_'s but is never used in real life except in jest.



> And I believe the use of "washi", "ware", "wareware", "jibun", is quite clear to me, but maybe a native person could explain their uses with more detail.


_Washi_ and _ware_ are obsolete first person pronouns, so there is no use except for being jocular.  _Wareware_ is a formal first person plural pronoun.  One may think of it as the Japanese equivalent of "editorial we."  _Jibun_ is the reflexive pronoun — a pronoun that refers back to the subject(s) in the sentence.  Several dialects around Osaka use it as a second person singular pronoun.  I seldom encounter the use in Tokyo area but Kansai natives may be willing to provide more details.



> Oh, and what about "anatagata"? Is it the same as "anatatachi" but more formal?


Yes.


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## Anatoli

Flaminius said:


> ...
> I won't use _kimi_, at least consciously.  Personal pronouns hold referents in lower regards than their real names.  I myself wonder how this tendency came into existence.  Anyway, to be on the safer side, use your interlocutor's name or nickname all the time.


Flam, what I could never get is, why addressing one's girlfriend or wife with a simple 'oi' is still more preferable in Japan than using her name or 'kimi'. Isn't 'oi' much less respectful than 'kimi' or the person's name?

EDIT:

or worse: leaving out any address form altogether (no names or pronouns), no matter how long the conversation is.

I heard an opinion that Japanese women are not happy with the situation, probably because of the Western influence.

Not criticising but interested to hear your opinions.


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## Aoyama

> Also, what about onore and uchi? They aren't mentioned on this thread.


Good question !
And also, *orenchi* , a mixture of *ore* and *uchi* (in fact, originally *orenouchi* = my house/my family/at my place/me, close to the French *chez moi* ).


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## Flaminius

Anatoli said:


> Flam, what I could never get is, why addressing one's girlfriend or wife with a simple 'oi' is still more preferable in Japan than using her name or 'kimi'. Isn't 'oi' much less respectful than 'kimi' or the person's name?


Ah *Anatoli*, I see you are at it again.    It's all for good since I wanted to have a second chance to answer your question.  I still cannot provide a linguistic reason getting someone's attention by _oi_ (or a tenderer variation _ōi_) is preferred to appellation by her name (with or without suffixes) but here are cultural reasons.

From a comparative perspective of cultures, reference of _oi_ is a manifestation of Asian inhibition for publicising the names of those whom one holds dear; such as oneself, one's wife, one's parents and so on.  To illustrate this inhibition, Chinese men once had two names; the real name by which one is addressed by one's family and the courtesy name that one gets upon coming of age and by which one is addressed in public life.  Japan also had the dichotomy of the real and public names.  They could have more than one public names, each with specific domains of usage.  Looking into ancient Japanese history, asking a girl's name was an initial step of wooing her.

I had to think for a long time to verify your question and connect it to the influence of old culture.  When I was growing up, my father always addressed my mother by her real name without a suffix, though she never addressed him by anything other than _anata_.  Gender imbalance aside, I wondered whether my parents were exceptionally progressive or you were hanging out with particularly conservative bunch.   

The difference in our observations should be accounted for by where we made the observations.  Your observations, I presume, have been made in public spheres, while mine in private life.  Ascertaining it is no longer possible but I think I remember my parents did not address each other at all when we were out on family excursions and such.  I may take it as an instance of accommodating to the name inhibition by giving up appellation all together in public.

Holding something dear while laying a siege of taboos around it looks like a very human reaction.  For another example, see the Third Commandment.



> I heard an opinion that Japanese women are not happy with the situation, probably because of the Western influence.


This reminds me that what I said above is an opinion of a Japanese man with a lot of Western influence.  Opinions from "other flavours of Japanese" would be nice.


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## Anatoli

It's hard to digest but I think I understand it. Thank you for satisfying my interest, Flaminius.  I actually find that the situation with names is quite different between Japan and China despite a lot of similarities. I also heard an opinion missing out names altogether has something to do with the fact that common people didn't have names at all at some stage.

I found this article, haven't read it yet, though, it looks interesting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_names


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