SubtleAnarchy
Pronouns are words that can be used to take the place of a noun. Examples of English pronouns are I, you, he, she, this, that, mine, yours, etc. Japanese pronouns differ quite a bit from English’s.
There are five types of Japanese pronouns-personal, interrogative, indefinite, demonstrative, and reflexive.
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns in Japanese refer to people only. They do not refer to things or ideas. For this definition, there is no personal pronoun relative to the English word, it.
Here is a list of personal pronouns you will see quite often.
Watakushi-I, me
Watakushitachi-We, us
Anata-You
Anatatachi-You (plural))
Anatagata-You (plural, formal)
Kare-He, him
Karera-They, them (All male group, or male and female mixed)
Kanojo-She, her
Kanojotachi-They, them (Female)
Kanojora-They, them (Female)
Note that there are other, less formal words for I and me. For males only, there are the words boku (which I am SURE you have heard before if you listen to Japanese music! smile ), the more masculine ore, and washi, used by many older men. Women, in informal situations, also use the word atashi. And a unisex, informal word for I or me that is often used is watashi. Once again, if you listen to music, or hear less formal Japanese conversation, you are likely to hear these!
Also, the use of the word anata is severely limited in most conversations. Sometimes, it is even considered rude to use! Kare and kanojo are also often avoided. Thankfully, there are several alternatives. When talking about someone, whether it is to their face, or to someone else, use their name.
If you are talking to someone that is held in high esteem, you can refer to them simply by one word, sensei. Yes, this word means teacher, but it can be used for someone you look up to, or someone who is accomplished in their field. Very useful!
Another technique to avoid using certain pronouns, when talking to a group, is to use either mina-san, or the more formal and polite mina-sama. Yet again, you might already be familiar with these phrases!
When all else fails, these are also some useful pronouns!
Ano hito-That person
Ano hitotachi-Those persons
Ano kata-That person (Formal)
Ano katagata-Those persons (Formal)
That wraps up personal pronouns!
Interrogative Pronouns
Interrogative pronouns are very straightforward-they are just basically question words!
Here are some of them!
Dare-Who
Dou-How
Doko-Where (Place)
Donna-What kind of
Dochira-Where, which (Direction, preference)
Dore-Which (Persons, things)
Dotchi-Which (Of two choices)
Donata-Which person, who (Polite)
Doushite-Why
Nan, nani-What
Nannin-How many people
Ikura-How much
Ikutsu-How many
Itsu-When
Keep in mind that there are many different versions of words in Japanese-so this list isn’t entirely complete. However, it contains the lump sum of interrogative pronouns! No flogging ;_;.
Indefinite Pronouns
Hehe...too easy to really explain in words!
Just read the list, gakusei-chan!
Dareka/Daremo-Someone/No one
Donataka/Donatamo-Someone/No one (Polite)
Doreka/Doremo-Something/Nothing
Dokoka/Dokomo-Somewhere/Nowhere
Ninika/NanimoSomething/Nothing
Ikuraka/Ikuramo-Some, a little/Not much
Nandemo/nannimo-Anything/Nothing
Yes, a note to go with these, too. When you use the negative version of a indefinite pronoun (the ones in orange), you use the negative form of the verb you are applying, as well! Make sure you remember that, or your grammar will sound pretty weird. ^^
Demonstrative Prounouns
Demonstrative words show what certain interrogative pronouns ask! Lucky for you, they follow strict boundaries that make them oh-so-easy to memorize.
Here is the pattern:
Ko--Here (close to the speaker)
Kore-This(Pronoun)
Kono-This(Adjective)
Konna-This kind of(Adjective)
Kou-In this manner(Adverb)
Koko-Here(Adverb, pronoun)
Kochira-Here, this (Adverb, pronoun, polite)
So--There (Away from the speaker)
Sore-That(Pronoun)
Sono-That(Adjective)
Sonna-In kind of (Adjective)
Sou-In that manner(Adverb)
Soko-There(Adverb, pronoun)
Sochira-There, that (adverb, pronoun, polite)
A--Over there (Some distance from the speaker)
Are-That(Pronoun)
Ano-That(Adjective) The “Umm” of Japanese!
Anna-That kind of(Adjective)
Aa-In that manner(Adverb)
Asoko-Over there(Adverb, pronoun)
Achira-There, that(Adverb, pronoun, polite)
Do--Question
Examples shown above.
Reflexive Pronouns
English reflexive pronouns are words such as myself, yourself, hisself, herself, etc. Technically, this should be called Reflexive Prounoun, as there is only ONE Japanese equivalent for these English words!
Here it is!
Jibun-One’s self
This word is often followed by the particles de] and no.
There are five types of Japanese pronouns-personal, interrogative, indefinite, demonstrative, and reflexive.
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns in Japanese refer to people only. They do not refer to things or ideas. For this definition, there is no personal pronoun relative to the English word, it.
Here is a list of personal pronouns you will see quite often.
Quote:
Watakushi-I, me
Watakushitachi-We, us
Anata-You
Anatatachi-You (plural))
Anatagata-You (plural, formal)
Kare-He, him
Karera-They, them (All male group, or male and female mixed)
Kanojo-She, her
Kanojotachi-They, them (Female)
Kanojora-They, them (Female)
Note that there are other, less formal words for I and me. For males only, there are the words boku (which I am SURE you have heard before if you listen to Japanese music! smile ), the more masculine ore, and washi, used by many older men. Women, in informal situations, also use the word atashi. And a unisex, informal word for I or me that is often used is watashi. Once again, if you listen to music, or hear less formal Japanese conversation, you are likely to hear these!
Also, the use of the word anata is severely limited in most conversations. Sometimes, it is even considered rude to use! Kare and kanojo are also often avoided. Thankfully, there are several alternatives. When talking about someone, whether it is to their face, or to someone else, use their name.
If you are talking to someone that is held in high esteem, you can refer to them simply by one word, sensei. Yes, this word means teacher, but it can be used for someone you look up to, or someone who is accomplished in their field. Very useful!
Another technique to avoid using certain pronouns, when talking to a group, is to use either mina-san, or the more formal and polite mina-sama. Yet again, you might already be familiar with these phrases!
When all else fails, these are also some useful pronouns!
Quote:
Ano hito-That person
Ano hitotachi-Those persons
Ano kata-That person (Formal)
Ano katagata-Those persons (Formal)
That wraps up personal pronouns!
Interrogative Pronouns
Interrogative pronouns are very straightforward-they are just basically question words!
Here are some of them!
Quote:
Dare-Who
Dou-How
Doko-Where (Place)
Donna-What kind of
Dochira-Where, which (Direction, preference)
Dore-Which (Persons, things)
Dotchi-Which (Of two choices)
Donata-Which person, who (Polite)
Doushite-Why
Nan, nani-What
Nannin-How many people
Ikura-How much
Ikutsu-How many
Itsu-When
Keep in mind that there are many different versions of words in Japanese-so this list isn’t entirely complete. However, it contains the lump sum of interrogative pronouns! No flogging ;_;.
Indefinite Pronouns
Hehe...too easy to really explain in words!
Just read the list, gakusei-chan!
Quote:
Dareka/Daremo-Someone/No one
Donataka/Donatamo-Someone/No one (Polite)
Doreka/Doremo-Something/Nothing
Dokoka/Dokomo-Somewhere/Nowhere
Ninika/NanimoSomething/Nothing
Ikuraka/Ikuramo-Some, a little/Not much
Nandemo/nannimo-Anything/Nothing
Yes, a note to go with these, too. When you use the negative version of a indefinite pronoun (the ones in orange), you use the negative form of the verb you are applying, as well! Make sure you remember that, or your grammar will sound pretty weird. ^^
Demonstrative Prounouns
Demonstrative words show what certain interrogative pronouns ask! Lucky for you, they follow strict boundaries that make them oh-so-easy to memorize.
Here is the pattern:
Quote:
Ko--Here (close to the speaker)
Kore-This(Pronoun)
Kono-This(Adjective)
Konna-This kind of(Adjective)
Kou-In this manner(Adverb)
Koko-Here(Adverb, pronoun)
Kochira-Here, this (Adverb, pronoun, polite)
Quote:
So--There (Away from the speaker)
Sore-That(Pronoun)
Sono-That(Adjective)
Sonna-In kind of (Adjective)
Sou-In that manner(Adverb)
Soko-There(Adverb, pronoun)
Sochira-There, that (adverb, pronoun, polite)
Quote:
A--Over there (Some distance from the speaker)
Are-That(Pronoun)
Ano-That(Adjective) The “Umm” of Japanese!
Anna-That kind of(Adjective)
Aa-In that manner(Adverb)
Asoko-Over there(Adverb, pronoun)
Achira-There, that(Adverb, pronoun, polite)
Quote:
Do--Question
Examples shown above.
Reflexive Pronouns
English reflexive pronouns are words such as myself, yourself, hisself, herself, etc. Technically, this should be called Reflexive Prounoun, as there is only ONE Japanese equivalent for these English words!
Here it is!
Quote:
Jibun-One’s self
This word is often followed by the particles de] and no.
