Japanese Language Stack Exchange
Japanese Language Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [pronouns]

代名詞. Words that substitute for a noun or noun phrase.

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109 questions
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Is it offensive to say あなた?

My teacher says that we should avoid あなた, like わたし, which could be taken off. Following this, I try to refer to the second person by the name: 加藤さんの趣味は何ですか. But there are situations where we forget the name. How can we say "You" without being rude,…
daniel tomio
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When is it appropriate to refer to yourself by これ?

I have occasionally heard and read instances, where a person has referred to themselves as これ. My Japanese dictionary also lists "Me, I." as a definition of これ. Now, this obviously isn't used as frequently as 私, 僕, etc., so it makes me wonder: When…
Miguel
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Difference between 自分 and 自分自身 and how to reflect their difference in English

Consider: 自分について書きたいことがあります。 = There are times that I want to write about myself (lit: things concerning me) 自分自身について書きたいことがあります。 What is their difference? I think the second sentence has more emphasis on "myself". If so, is this emphasis too…
yadokari
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Why is "kisama" more refined than "temee"?

From Wikipedia:  –§–  貴様 — formerly an extremely honorific form of address; in modern speech is as insulting as, but more refined than, "temee" 貴様 is often said (by textbooks) to be the most insulting word used refer to someone, even more…
Pacerier
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Is it acceptable to use あなた when referring to a superior indirectly?

I know that generally あなた shouldn't be used when referring to superiors. However, I find it difficult to rephrase the following sentences which refer to a superior using あなた in an indirect manner: 彼はあなたが日本語の先生だと言いました。 He said you are a Japanese…
Ofek Aman
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When is it appropriate to refer to yourself using your name, rather than 私 (or others)?

I have heard—though not often—people refer to themselves using their first name, not by using a pronoun for "I." Does this have special connotation in Japanese? Nothing about the usage (to me) seemed particularly unusual. In English, this would…
user1316
10
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1 answer

Difference between どこですか and どこにいますか/どこにありますか?

(1) 本はどこですか。 (2) 本はどこにありますか。 Unless I'm mistaken, both those sentences mean something like "where is the book", what's the difference between using です and あります to indicate position? I wouldn't have said (2) for "where is the book" but in an…
Teleporting Goat
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What does it mean when この is in front of a personal pronoun?

As in このオレさま and この僕も. I know the literal translation, but I never understood what the intent of it is.
Roy Fuentes
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Oneself words difference : 自分, 自身, 自ら, 自分自身, 己, 自己, 自力

I know it's a huge topic, but I can't understand the differences between all this ways to say oneself, and by extension yourself, himself, herself ... If anyone can help me to have a picture of the uses for oneself, it will be very helpful (and i'm…
Poulp
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「わし」 used by young males in Western Japan

I noticed something very interesting in the adaptations of the novel 『バッテリー』 across media forms. For context, the story is set in a fictional city in 岡山県. The protagonist 原田巧 is described to have been born in Tokyo and moving around with his…
Eddie Kal
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Is 僕 (boku) only appropriate for cisgendered men?

I'm enrolled in Japanese at my university, and we recently had a review of personal pronouns. The professor encourage us to understand and practice casual speech, and as part of that, to try finding personal pronouns that we feel comfortable with in…
seitoオタク98
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自分 How to know what it means?

自分 can mean myself and yourself but, how do you know when the speaker is referring to him/herself or to you? As in, how could you know when the speaker is saying "myself" instead of "yourself" (to the listener)?
Yazuzu
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Giving something to oneself

what is the theory that 僕は自分にプレゼントをあげる is right but not 僕は自分にプレゼントをくれる ? Btw I'm also curious if these sentences are equally valid: A) 僕は自身にプレゼントをあげる B) 僕は自分自身にプレゼントをある C) ボブはボブにプレゼントを[あげる/くれる?] D) ボブはボブ自分にプレゼントを[あげる/くれる?] E)…
Pacerier
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Usage of いる/います and ある/あります in combined words and sentences

Actually, this has been lingering for sometime in my mind about how Japanese convey a sentence which has both the living and non-living things. Will Japanese use いる or ある? or whichever comes first? or both are acceptable? or Japanese will prefer to…
Flonne
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Why is "My Apps" translated to マイApp instead of something like 自分のApp?

In iTunesConnect (for those who don't know, iTunesConnect is a website where developers and iBook authors can manage their apps/books), there is this "My Apps" button: When I change my OS's language to Japanese, it turns into this: This is quite…
Sweeper
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