A polite way to say " this person"

Question

What do I say in Japanese when I'm trying to imply, "This is my dad", "These are my parents", "This is my friend(female)" or "This is my manager"?

I don't think using これ is polite, nor will 彼 be appropriate.

score 9 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 18 '12 at 14:53

The alternative to これ　in polite Japanese conversation is こちら (you should find it in most 初級Japanese text books on how to introduce yourself.)

To implement this （borrowing Dono's answer） I would say:

こちらは私の父です。 This is my father.
こちらは私の両親です。These are my parents.
こちらは私の友達、由美子です。This is my friend Yumiko.
こちらは私のマネジャー（上司）です。This is my manager.

You can even use this to introduce yourself on the phone:

[あの..]こちらはABCのVenkatesh Kumarですが[いつもお世話になっております。]

The stop gap alternative to referring to people by pronouns (he/she/you etc) is to use their name. You would attach the suffix (さん　etc) according to the relationship between you, your 相手 and your colleague.friend etc.

score 5 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 18 '12 at 05:04

5

You do not need anything. Just list their title and add desu.

This is my dad: 父です or オヤジです。
These are my parents: 両親です。
This is my friend (female): 友達です。
This is my manager: マネジャー（上司）です。

answered Sep 18 '12 at 05:04

Dono

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I think the OP was looking for an alternative to これ: What about introducing the person with こちらは私の[ちちです　etc]. – Tim Sep 18 '12 at 05:08
@user1205935, "use nothing" is an alternative, but the space deixis is lost. That's not the case with こちら. – dainichi Sep 18 '12 at 07:41
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@Tim: Please put that as a separate answer (or I will). – istrasci Sep 18 '12 at 14:19

score 4 · Answer 3 · edited Sep 19 '12 at 13:06

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こちらは 田中さんです。(He is Mr.Tanaka) こちらは is polite way to say he or she

edited Sep 19 '12 at 13:06

silvermaple

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answered Sep 19 '12 at 09:52

Navanee

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A polite way to say " this person"

3 Answers3