Japanese Pronouns

Using a person's name in Japanese is the easiest way to speak to them with respect. However, there are many occasions when pronouns might be used. There are more variations of these pronouns in Japanese than in English depending on the social status of the speaker and the listener, which includes gender, age and general social ranking.

For example, most of the time you would not refer to yourself with your own name. You would want to use “I.” A Japanese woman would say 'watashi,' or sometimes even 'washi.' Men can also use 'watashi' but it is considered mildly feminine. Men would more typically refer to themselves as 'ore.' A woman would never use 'ore.' A young boy would more likely call himself 'boku' than 'ore.'

There are also many ways to say 'you.' The most common way is using the word 'anata.' This can be used for either gender. A man may refer to a woman as 'kimi' or 'omae.' 'Omae is the least respectful of the three. Women can use these two when speaking to children, but not to a man. If unsure of how to refer to someone, using their name plus ‘san’ is usually respectful enough, although other suffixes can be used. Even more respectful ones would be name + sama, or name + dono. When referring to a boy or child you can use name + kun, or name + chan. When unsure of a person’s rank or social status, taking the more respectful route is always a safer bet.

He and she are more simple. Use 'kare' to say he, and 'kanojo' to say she, but only when it is clear whom you are speaking of. If not, it is better to use the name of the person and the suffix san after their name. The word 'it' is a bit more complex. To refer to something as 'it' is more difficult because there are a few ways to say it, depending on its location. Something close to you would be ‘kore,’ an object a little farther away would be ‘sore’ and an object far away would be called ‘are.’ There are words for 'thing,' such as 'mono' or 'koto.' In combination with 'sono' as in 'sonomono' or 'sonokoto,' 'that thing' can be loosely called 'it.'

'We' and 'they' can be created by adding the suffix 'tachi’ to other pronouns or even to names. For example, we would be ‘watashi tachi,’ ‘ore tachi,’ or ‘boku tachi.’ They can be made by using the pronouns for he or she with ‘tachi’ or even a person’s name. They can be said as ‘karetachi’ (for a group of males), ‘kanojotachi’ (for a group of females), or even by name ‘Tanaka tachi’ (meaning Tanaka and group or the group including Tanaka-san). Another option for they for a group of males is ‘karera’ and for females ‘kanojora.’ Some people also use ‘ware ware’ for we, but this term should be reserved for informal occasions where the group is very close and obvious respect is not an issue.

Try these in a sentence and practice to master Japanese pronouns more easily and swiftly.

Replace the nouns or names in a few sentences with pronouns. Check the key for answers.

Japan Reference is another good resource for practice.