A polite way to say “ this person”

Question

What to say in Japanese when trying to Imply "This is my dad". "These are my parents". "This is my friend(female)". "This is my manager"?

I don think using これ is polite or 彼 will be appropriate.

Thanks.

Answer 1

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.

Answer 2

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。

Answer 3

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