# アレ



## Lisa Wang

Hi everyone 

I just came across this sentence online and don't understand what it means:

あまり頻繁に使うとアレな気がしますので、ほどほどが良いかもしれません。
(http://imimatome.com/netyogonoimi/nau.html)

So, what exactly does アレな気がする mean?

Thanks in advance 

Lisa


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## Tonky

アレ is used when the writer believes he/she shares opinion/idea/info with the reader/listener.
Literally, it is "that", and it means "you know what I mean".
"If you use it too often, it would be like... you know, what I mean? So, probably better keep its use limited. (not over-use it)"
In this case, you can apply whatever adjective comes to your mind when you see/hear someone using certain slang term too often. (such as annoying, uneducated, childish, and so on.)

p.s.
I hear English natives say "you know THAT feel" too, although it is used differently and would not fit here.


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## YangMuye

Hi, Tonky, what's the different between
あの気がします。
and あれな気がします。

I'm curious about the different among あの、例の、例のあの and あれな.
よろしくおねがいします。


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## lrosa

For my part, I am familiar with あれ in expressions such as あれですね (similar to "you know what I mean"), but am surprised by the use of あれ*な*. I have also found Google examples of ”これ*な*気” and ”それ*な*気”, but can't understand why it's not simply こんな気/そんな気/あんな気, or perhaps こ(そ／あ)れ*みたいな*気 (in order to be grammatically correct). Is the usage of こ/そ/あれ*な* common?


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## Tonky

YangMuye said:


> あの気がします。


Hmm, where did you see this? Can you give some more context?
As for あの, 例の, 例のあの comparison, I've never thought of the difference before. Give me some time or wait for someone else's reply


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## Tonky

lrosa said:


> but am surprised by the use of あれ*な*.


It is a casual slang and forcing it to be a na-adjective to modify 気 here. I think this usage is still rather recent. I mean, I don't think my parents used this at all. I don't know why but I never hear こ/そ/あんな気 or みたいな気, as of yet. My guess is that アレ itself is considered an independent "new" word to mean differently from the original あれ, so it needs to be na-adjective to show the effect of what it should mean, just like when we use loandwords.


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## YangMuye

Tonky said:


> Hmm, where did you see this? Can you give some more context?
> As for あの, 例の, 例のあの comparison, I've never thought of the difference before. Give me some time or wait for someone else's reply


Sorry, I just picked an example randomly, without realizing it was not actually used.

But あのブツ and 例のブツ are often heard.


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## lrosa

Tonky said:


> I think this usage is still rather recent. [...] My guess is that アレ itself is considered an independent "new" word to mean differently from the original あれ, so it needs to be na-adjective to show the effect of what it should mean, just like when we use loandwords.



That's interesting to hear - thanks!


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## frequency

Haven't you ever heard アレなので？
You're going to give a presentation. But you want to make the presentation shorter.
あまり長くなってもアレなので、ほどほどが良いです。
You suggest that if your presentation is lengthy, you think it won't work well or be annoying. You want to avoid mentioning directly by using アレ. If I rewrite this one:　あまり長くなってもよくないので、ほどほどが良いです。

In this case as well, アレ is suggesting a negative effect by using なう too much. The writer says なう might be getting older. Using なう too much might lead your comment to sound old/uncool. And the writer avoids direct mention, making it obscure. 気がする？ is just 'I feel like', rather than declarative one アレなので.


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## lrosa

Thanks Frequency, it's interesting that the meaning of アレ in your  example is similar to that of the OP's sentence. But I wonder, does this  kind of アレ have a fixed meaning (i.e. to indirectly refer to something  negative)? Or could it literally refer to any thing/concept (under the  condition that the thing/concept referred to is obvious to both the  speaker and the listener)? 

Just to pick one example from a Google search for ”だとあれですね”: このままだと*あれ*ですね (from http://yaplog.jp/hamutoarashi/archive/316)

Is it possible to tell just from this sentence what the meaning of *あれ* is, or is it necessary to have more context? I get the feeling that *あれ* could refer to something very specific, but am I wrong? Does it just refer to a general concept of *あれ*? Or is it even possible to know without more context?


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## Tonky

YangMuye said:


> あの、例の、例のあの





YangMuye said:


> But あのブツ and 例のブツ are often heard.


Okay, I could not really find anything good enough for "differences".
あの - the ~, that ~, the one you know
例の - the one we have been talking about/dealing with repeatedly
例のあの - combination of the above two, that one you know that we have been talking about/dealing with repeatedly
How is this? 
例の indicates that the speaker and the listener both have a shared and repeated experience regarding the stuff (either talking about it or dealing with it).

By the way, it seems 「例のアレ」 is one of the current booming? terms in Japanese sub-culture or at least on internet. According to a few pages talking about 例のアレ, it means (or it is supposed to mean) "something/someone which is very hot and popular now". (Mostly, I think this term is only to gather attentions from as many people as possible by making us wonder "what is it?" and click and check... It gives you an impression that you *should* know and make you feel behind for not knowing about it.)


lrosa, アレ can be many things and you almost always need context. 
For example, "アレもってる？" is not always asking if you have something you shouldn't have, but something you are embarrassed to mention yet you should have, e.g. girl's only stuff. 
Some people often say あれ too, not because embarrassed but because they cannot remember what it is called or too lazy to try and mention it. An old married couple often do (or used to do) this, a husband says, "あれ" and his wife knows what he wants or vice versa, but nobody else understand their conversation. (In this case, it is not na-adjective.)


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## lrosa

Thanks for the clarification, Tonky - it seems like a very handy word!


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## frequency

lrosa said:


> Just to pick one example from a Google search for ”だとあれですね”: このままだと*あれ*ですね
> Is it possible to tell just from this sentence what the meaning of *あれ* is, or is it necessary to have more context? I get the feeling that *あれ* could refer to something very specific, but am I wrong? Does it just refer to a general concept of *あれ*? Or is it even possible to know without more context?



Not wrong. OK. Negative effect isn't always.

アレ(なので） is used to omit a detail, avoid repetition, or avoid direct mention. These three work similarly, don't you think? In the OP and mine, two of アレ are as well omitting details that are negative effects. When trying to find what the details are, they happen to be negative effects. Sorry for misleading. Negative effect hence omission? I can't say yes.

あれ（アレ） in your case is yes, pointing something specific using it thereby omitting a detail, vice versa. As long as omitting by using it, the detail is perhaps understandable, imaginable between people there due to conversation flow or common experience we share.


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## YangMuye

Tonky said:


> Okay, I could not really find anything good enough for "differences".
> あの - the ~, that ~, the one you know
> 例の - the one we have been talking about/dealing with repeatedly
> 例のあの - combination of the above two, that one you know that we have been talking about/dealing with repeatedly
> How is this?
> 例の indicates that the speaker and the listener both have a shared and repeated experience regarding the stuff (either talking about it or dealing with it).


Thank you, Tonky. I have the same feeling.
例の sounds like something the speaker has mentioned before or I have dealt with before, but not necessarily repeatedly.
So 例の is a kind of あの.


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## Tonky

I wrote repeatedly, because you do make it "例" by repeating it indeed 
Maybe just one time mentioning very strongly could make 例 too for some people, but it may vary to each person's experience. I'd at least mention it more than twice to start calling something "例の". Fortunately, I do not have anything to call 例の for now  It does have an implication of secrecy.

In a detective anime "Case Closed/名探偵コナン", They often use 例の and あの like below.
*
例のクスリ*
-the medicine, APTX4869, that made two main characters into elementary students, used by the main character, Conan (and fans) 
*例の坊や*(ボウズ）
-"the cool kid", Conan, who often appears intervening the black organization work. used by the members of the organization, FBI, and Japanese police in the beginning.

*あの方*　
-the mysterious boss of the black organization, that has not been revealed to the audience yet. All members of the organization mention him as "あの方" but never call him "例の方". (I suppose あの could show some respect while 例の doesn't. Same with あなた for "you" in polite form.) Interestingly fans of this anime talk about him as "例の人", "例のボス", or "例のあの人".

If Harry Potter series were written in Japanese (not just translation, I mean), I'm sure Voldemort would have been called あの方 by his followers, but 例のヤツ/例のアイツ by Harry and his friends.
(I have not read its Japanese translation, but it seems "You-know-who" is translated as "例のあの人")


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## YangMuye

Tonky said:


> It does have an implication of secrecy.
> 
> In a detective anime "Case Closed/名探偵コナン", They often use 例の and あの like below.


Thank you for your explanation, Tonky-san.
I saw this word in another detective anime 神様のメモ帳, but I didn't realize it has an implication of secrecy when I heard it.


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## Flaminius

_Are_ is often written in katakana as in アレな on the 'Net.  It's used with mild condescension.


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