Questions tagged [first-person-pronouns]
一人称代名詞. The many Japanese words that correspond to English "I" and "me" but differ in nuances such as formality, respect, intimacy, etc.
38
questions
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1answer
1k views
Should 私の be omitted?
I have the following sentence on my Japanese LinkedIn page:
私 の 目的 は 主導 と 代表的 な 執行 と 技術革新 通じて 例外的 な 質 を 生むて います。
It is meant to mirror my English mission statement:
"My mission is to deliver ...
1
vote
1answer
118 views
Formal, feminine first-person pronoun
よろしくお願いします。 I am writing a scene (in English, with occasional
Japanese for flavor and difficult-to-translate terms) where a rather
androgynous woman is in a Tokyo department store, speaking with a ...
5
votes
1answer
241 views
When do you use your own name to refer to yourself?
I searched for "referring to yourself in third person" and other similar phrases , but found only these: Q1, Q2. All searches in google also lead to similar discussions.
But I already know that ...
4
votes
2answers
218 views
Pronoun collocations
I have embarked on a project of translating a novel I am writing into Japanese in parallel with writing it, and one of the hardest parts for me (in contemplation, I haven't really gotten that far) is ...
5
votes
3answers
2k views
Is there a casual gender-neutral first-person pronoun?
I know that 私, while being used by both men and women, is relatively formal or at least polite and so wouldn't necessarily be used when talking to a close friend, etc. On the other hand, 俺、僕、and あたし ...
3
votes
1answer
172 views
Use of personal pronouns when talking to different “ranked” people. (In the same conversation)
First time posting here.
I have a question that have been bothering me for quite a while.
I wonder how to use the personal pronouns (僕/俺 & お前/きみ/あなた) in a conversation with different "ranked" ...
1
vote
1answer
111 views
How would one address oneself when speaking to royalty?
Apart from avoiding using personal pronouns, when speaking to royalty, would one just use watashi, like in the following example:
Time: 05:32 - 05:50
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/...
3
votes
2answers
285 views
Usage of 私｛わたし｝ in Informal Situations
I know Japanese males tend to use 俺｛おれ｝/僕｛ぼく｝ in informal contexts. Is it common to use 私｛わたし｝ too or it makes one sounds overly stiff and aloof?
Edit: What about 自分｛じぶん｝?
5
votes
3answers
586 views
How did わし etc. become stereotypical “old people” pronouns
After reading this answer about the pronoun あちし, I became curious about how certain pronouns came to be associated with older people. As I see it, there are four main possibilities:
People just ...
3
votes
3answers
818 views
What does “オレ” in Pokemon Opening song mean?
The lyric says:
オレはこいつと 旅に出る
I wonder what オレ means. Is it a different way to write: "俺"?
Thanks! よろしくお願いします！
4
votes
1answer
222 views
あちし。。。Real or fiction
I've heard in some mangas あちし, which means "I". However, in every dictionary I've look at, It doesn't exist. So is this a fictional pronoun?
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votes
4answers
1k views
Difference between “私達” and “われわれ” when used as possessive pronouns?
When you are talking to a 3rd person, fundamentally
(1) それは、私達の出来あげたものです。
(2) それは、われわれの出来あげたものです。
mean:
That is something that we all created together.
With regard to using them as first ...
12
votes
2answers
338 views
Change in self-address for emphasis or to express frustration or dissatisfaction
Building on from this comment,
It is possible that in English, a mother may opt to refer to herself in the third person: using "Your mother" instead of "I" to create emphasis.
It is observed from ...
2
votes
1answer
621 views
僕 in 敬語 - is it possible?
With 丁寧語, it's very possible - 僕が行きます is a perfectly normal thing to say. But what of 僕が参ります? Would that sound odd? 私が参ります would be more normal, I think, but is 僕が参ります possible at all?
5
votes
1answer
243 views
Generic title for children redux & referring to self in the context of children
Continuing from this question
1. Generic title for children redux
Consider the following cases for each situation where a person speaks to two children of different age:
How are the following ...
6
votes
1answer
440 views
How common/formal is あたくし?
A while ago, I discovered that あたし has a more-formal variant: あたくし
This is obviously very similar to the relationship between わたし and わたくし. However, there are a couple of details that I'm not too ...
5
votes
2answers
458 views
Can 「奴」 be used to refer to a female?
Is the word 「奴」/「やつ」 (yatsu) ever used to refer to another female, or to refer to oneself if one is female? Or is it only used to refer to a male?
Answers to this question touched on the word 「奴」, ...
2
votes
0answers
104 views
How to do plurals? [duplicate]
I've seen there are two ways of saying we and pluralizing words using:
ら、たち
But I can't see the difference and I'm not sure if it can be used with all the pronouns. Are there other forms of ...
7
votes
3answers
660 views
Which personal pronouns and sentence ending particles would an old man use?
I'm somewhat informed on gendered speech in Japanese, however, I have also heard that age may play a part in which pronouns and sentence ending particles you use and can get away with. For instance, a ...
3
votes
1answer
291 views
The plural 等 in おいら, おら
Why do the singular first person pronouns 俺{おい}等{ら} and 俺{お}等{ら} involve the plural affix 等?
6
votes
2answers
530 views
What rules should be followed when saying “we”?
I know that, in Japanese, you can say X達【たち】 or Xら (where X is a first person pronoun) to say we.
However, what rules should be followed for choosing that "X". Can I use whatever I would use to refer ...
17
votes
2answers
460 views
Was 俺 ever gender-neutral?
I've heard elderly women in Japan referring to themselves using 俺. This leads me to believe that the usage has changed overtime to become only used by males. Did 俺 used to be gender-neutral?
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votes
1answer
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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 ...
6
votes
1answer
3k views
Why is 自分 used instead of 私?
For example:
自分の名前が呼ばれたとき、私は自分の耳を疑った。I couldn't believe my ears when I heard my name called.
Would it be appropriate if I said 私? When is it appropriate to use 自分? What is the difference?
9
votes
1answer
3k views
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 ...
3
votes
1answer
287 views
Finding the subject in Japanese. 自分だったら、これを大きくなってから見たら感動するだろうな
This is from the comments on this youtube page where an infant is cuddling with a bemused cat.
The commentator is writing on how cute the scene is. I am having trouble figuring out some of the ...
3
votes
0answers
2k views
私 (watashi) vs 僕 (boku) [duplicate]
Possible Duplicates:
Is it ok for non-japanese to refer to themselves as 僕（ぼく） and if not why?
How should I select what first-person pronoun to use?
How commonly are "あたし" (atashi) or &...
6
votes
1answer
479 views
Is it true that only girls use うち to refer to themselves?
Is it true that only girls will use うち to refer to themselves?
So when a guy say うち he is referring to his in-group / company / family, and not referring to himself, right?
7
votes
3answers
12k views
Speaking in the third person
Many things that seem normal in English look arrogant in Japanese. I think I found a special case where the reverse is true. In Japanese is it normal to speak in the third person when referring to ...
4
votes
1answer
289 views
What is the nuance of この + [first person pronoun]?
For example, from the song Fare Well by L'Arc~en~Ciel:
あなたは いつまでも この僕のこと 愛してくれたのかな
and countless examples from manga, like:
だが このオレは 死なん...
こんどは このオレが きさまを 滅ぼす
このオレに 勝てるわけがない
My ...
6
votes
4answers
376 views
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?]
...
16
votes
2answers
2k views
Just how rude is 「俺{おれ}」?
Statistics seem to show that (for young males, anyway) 俺{おれ} is beginning to be used more often than 僕{ぼく} to refer to oneself. I have read that 俺 is somewhat rude.
There are certain situations, of ...
26
votes
3answers
2k views
Use of 自分【じぶん】as a personal pronoun in direct speech
Yay, yet another first-person-pronoun question!
I know that 自分 is commonly used as a personal pronoun in indirect speech, e.g.:
マイクは、自分はなんと不注意なのだろうと言った。→ Mike said that he was very careless.
...
14
votes
3answers
661 views
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 ...
5
votes
3answers
463 views
Is there a dialect where older men refer to themselves as あたし?
I remember reading that there is a dialect in which older men refer to themselves as あたし. It didn't have a feminine connotation, it may have even been a bit rough.
I think I read it on Wikipedia, but ...
14
votes
4answers
3k views
How commonly are “あたし” or “[僕]{ぼく}” used?
My friend and I are learning Japanese. For a time, all we knew was 私, but after we learned more words, she started to use あたし when referring to herself, and I began using 僕. What I'm wondering is, how ...
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votes
3answers
3k views
Is it ok for non-japanese to refer to themselves as 僕{ぼく} and if not why?
Grammatically speaking it shouldn't be an issue, but I have heard from some people that a non-japanese using 僕{ぼく} sounds really weird. Has anyone else heard this? And if so, is there a reason?
27
votes
6answers
5k views
How should I select what first-person pronoun to use?
I've always had trouble choosing which first person pronoun to use - 私 (watashi), 僕 (boku), or 俺 (おれ). What kind of factors should I keep in mind when choosing between these? Is it common to vary one'...
