How to Call “I” and “You” in Japanese?

Probably you learned that “I = わたし(watashi), you = あなた(anata)”. It’s correct, but not always appropriate. It’s because not only Japanese often omit the subject, but also personal pronouns are not used as often as in English.

So when Japanese people call someone, what do they use instead of personal pronouns?

To answer this question, you need to understand two categories, “Terms for self” and “Address term”.

 

[Address term = You]

Address term is the concept of words that the speaker refer to the listener. 

It includes personal pronoun “You”, あなた(anata), 君(kimi), 貴様(kisama)…etc., 

and also “mother” お母さん(okāsan), “uncle” おじさん(ojisan), “teacher” 先生(sensei), “Yumi” 由美 (name of the person)… etc.

 

Did you notice that “mother, uncle, teacher…etc” are in both categories? Yes, they can be both “I” and “you”.

In Japanese, “I” and “you” are determined by who the speaker is talking to.

 

Here is a example of a man, 40 years old teacher, the ways he call himself and others.

*Green texts are “Terms for self = I”, and blue texts are “Address term = You”.

 

Example 1: 

When a mother talk to her son and refer to herself, she can call herself “お母さん(okāsan)” = mother.

「お母さん、ちょっとスーパーに買い物に行ってくるね。」

“I’m going shopping to supermarket now.”

 

Example 2: 

When a boy talk to his mum and refer to her, he call her “お母さん(okāsan)” = mother.

「お母さんなんて嫌い！」

“I hate you!”

 

Rules to select “I” and “You”

So, how they choose which “I” and “you’ to use?

 

[Rules among family]

Here is the rules among family.

The rule is based on the concept of senior ans junior.

senior: elder brother, elder sister, father, mother, uncle, aunt, grand mother, grand father

junior: younger brother, younger sister, son, daughter, nephew, niece, grandchild 

*husband and wife are equal in general.

		to senior	to junior
Address term  “You”	personal pronoun (you: あなた(anata), 君(kimi))	–	OK
	call by their family status (e.g. father, aunt)	OK	–
	call only their name	–	OK
Terms for self  “I”	refer to yourself by your name	OK	–
	refer to yourself from the junior’s point of view	–	OK

 

< Address term – You >

1. When you talk to juniors, you can use personal pronoun (you: あなた(anata), 君(kimi)…), but not to seniors.

You cannot call your mother “あなた(anata)” .

2. When you talk to senior, you can call them by their family status like おじいちゃん(ojīchan)=grand father, お兄ちゃん(onīchan)=elder brother), but not to junior.

You cannot call your younger sister “妹(imōto).

3. When you talk to juniors, you can call only their name, but not to seniors.

You cannot call your elder brother “健太(Kenta).

 

< Terms for self – I >

1.When you talk to senior, you can refer to yourself by your name, but not to junior.

You cannot refer to yourself as “明菜(Akina) when you talk to your daughter.

2.When you talk to juniors, you can refer to yourself from the junior’s point of view, but not to senior.

You can refer to yourself as “お兄ちゃん(onīchan)” when you talk to your younger brother, but you cannot refer to yourself as “弟(otōto)” when you talk to your elder brother.

 

[Rules in the society]

These rules applies to the society outside family too.

		to senior	to junior
Address term “You”	personal pronoun (you: あなた(anata), 君(kimi))	–	OK
	call by their status (e.g. teacher, director)	OK	–
	call only their name*	–	OK
Terms for self “I”	refer to yourself by your surname	OK	–
	refer to yourself by your status (e.g. teacher, director)	–	OK

*For some cases, you canit’s allowed to just add “-san” in the end of their name.

 

There is also another usage to call family (e.g. Mother can call her son “お兄ちゃん(onīchan)”, means elder brother, in specific situation).

It will be explained in the coming post!

Let’s learn a new language today! Join us at LingoCards!

 

reference: 鈴木孝夫「ことばと文化」