Nouns: References to "Both" and "They"

Question

When speaking to a couple, I had difficulties referring to them collectively, as I try to express "both of you".

What is the best way to refer to the both of them, instead of 「A」さんと「B」さん? Would ふたりは　東京に　いきましたか be a good expression to ask, "Have the both of you been to Tokyo?"

Also, how to I express "they/them", as in "that group of people (over there)"? あそこの人達？

(PS: Moderators, please help to improve the title and edit this post to make it more general and beneficial.)

See [my answer](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/1312/78) on this question: [Pluralization in Japanese: usage of -たち and -ら](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/1310/78) — istrasci, May 14 '19 at 05:39

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited May 14 '19 at 11:37

Yes, you can use 二人{ふたり} to refer to them. You would use this like:

「二人{ふたり}は東京{とうきょう}へ行{い}ったことがありますか」

If you want to be more polite, お二人、お二人さん would also work, while for keigo, お二方{ふたかた} is more appropriate.

To refer to a group of people as "That group (over there)", あの人{ひと}たち, あちらの人たち etc would be pretty standard, whereas あの方々{かたがた}, あちらの方々 etc would be more polite / keigo-compatible.

Nouns: References to "Both" and "They"

1 Answers1