{"id":107262,"date":"2023-02-28T22:04:20","date_gmt":"2023-03-01T03:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/you-in-japanese\/"},"modified":"2025-06-29T06:12:02","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T10:12:02","slug":"you-in-japanese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/japanese\/you-in-japanese\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Appropriately Say “You” in Japanese"},"content":{"rendered":"

Japanese textbooks<\/a> generally do use \u3042\u306a\u305f (anata)<\/em> to mean “you” at a beginner level, for clarity’s sake. \u3042\u306a\u305f is technically correct<\/a>, but there are a lot of other ways to say (or not say) “you” in Japanese, and some are far more frequently used by native speakers.<\/p>\n

In Japanese, saying “you” can mean everything from “my beloved spouse” to “worthless piece of trash,”\u00a0<\/strong>depending on the specific word you choose.<\/p>\n

Take a look at my quick guide to the meanings of five different ways to say “you” in Japanese, so that you do not end up on the wrong side of whoever you are talking to (like calling your boss “darling”).<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

How to Naturally Say “You” in Japanese<\/h2>\n

English pronouns come in many forms (e.g. I, my, me, mine) but they operate a little differently in Japanese. So while you need to learn a few more pronouns in order to address people at the correct level of politeness, you do not need to learn vastly different forms like “mine.” (Instead, a simple particle will do<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Below are five ways to say “you” in Japanese for vastly different occasions.<\/p>\n

\u3042\u306a\u305f \u2014 Anata<\/em><\/h3>\n

Typically written with hiragana<\/a>, \u3042\u306a\u305f is the standard, polite way to refer to the listener in a conversation, though generally it is only used when you do not know the name of the person you are speaking to.<\/strong> It is typically used by women\u2014this gendered speech is very common in Japanese, with\u00a0speech patterns differing between men and women<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It is also used by many women to refer to their spouses. It can be said in an endearing way, like “darling” or a pet name in English, but it is also often used to express exasperation.<\/p>\n

Mostly used by:<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can use this to refer to a stranger. Women also use it to address their spouses.<\/p>\n

\u541b (\u304d\u307f) \u2014 Kimi\u00a0<\/em><\/h3>\n

\u541b is most often written using kanji. Those of you studying hard will see that this kanji is also used\u00a0with its onyomi<\/em>\u00a0kanji reading<\/a>\u00a0for\u00a0the suffix<\/a> \u301c\u541b (\u301c\u304f\u3093)<\/strong>,<\/em> which is used as a familiar term to address males.<\/p>\n

This is the word for “you” that most men would choose<\/strong> to refer to someone when speaking in a casual conversation. It should not be used when talking to your boss or someone else higher than you on the social ladder, as it expresses a level of familiarity that is inappropriate. You would risk sounding presumptuous since it indicates that as the speaker you feel you are on the same level as, or superior to, the person you are talking to.<\/p>\n

It is used often in songs to create a feeling of immediacy, familiarity and informality. Boyfriends also use it when talking to their girlfriends.<\/p>\n

Although English pronouns do not carry so much cultural coding, by looking at\u00a0\u541b and \u3042\u306a\u305f you\u00a0should begin to see that it is important to consider who is speaking and who is being spoken to when picking out the correct “you” to use.<\/p>\n

Mostly used by:<\/strong><\/p>\n

This word is used by men in a higher position than those they are talking to, boyfriends talking to their girlfriends and in songs by both men and women.<\/p>\n

\u3042\u3093\u305f \u2014 Anta<\/em><\/h3>\n

This is a contracted version of\u00a0\u3042\u306a\u305f,\u00a0<\/em>and as such, is less formal. Written in kana as \u3042\u3093\u305f, it is typically regarded as a rude and rough way to address the listener, expressing the anger or disrespect of the speaker.<\/p>\n

This pronoun is not used in polite conversation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is overly familiar and can be quite offensive because it is expressing the speaker’s superiority,<\/strong>\u00a0although you will often hear it in anime, comedy or TV dramas<\/a>. A quick search on Jisho.org’s sentence examples<\/a> shows the flavor of this word: insulting, exasperated and used for rough and ready exclamations.<\/p>\n

Mostly used by:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Women tend to use\u00a0\u3042\u3093\u305f\u00a0more than men, especially when addressing men. A typical instance would be a wife criticizing her husband.<\/p>\n

Both men and women may use this when roasting their closest friends or family in jest. However, it is something that requires a refined ability to know how others might feel about it. If you are unsure, just avoid this term altogether so you do not accidentally upset anyone.<\/p>\n

\u304a\u524d (\u304a\u307e\u3048) \u2014 Omae<\/em><\/h3>\n

This is a masculine and somewhat gruff<\/strong> way of saying “you.” It is often used by older male teachers when scolding naughty groups of students, though it should be emphasized that this is\u00a0not<\/em> a polite way to speak to them. It shows that the speaker’s authority is considered high above those being addressed and is very informal.<\/p>\n

The dictionary notes that this can be considered a derogatory term, but like all Japanese, it is essential to consider context and politeness level<\/a>. For instance, if your older male boss says \u304a\u524d to you when asking you to book a meeting room, it is not passive-aggressive or rude,\u00a0but rather just him speaking from his established position in the office hierarchy.<\/p>\n

However, if a stranger of your age on a train speaks to you and uses \u304a\u524d then it is similar to them having said “Oy! You!”<\/p>\n

While constantly reinforcing your position in a hierarchy (or, more uncomfortably for some, within gender stereotypes) may seem to contain a smug subtext in English, it is not so in Japanese and it is important to recognize that people rarely mean offense when using this term.<\/p>\n

If somebody does want to upset you in Japanese, you will likely be able to hear it in their intonation. Conversely, cues like hearing someone say \u304a\u524d to you can help you gauge where you are in terms of politeness level (hint: you usually start near the bottom of the hierarchy!).<\/p>\n

Men often use \u304a\u524d in the same way that women use \u3042\u306a\u305f with their spouses, though it reinforces their assumption that they are superior in the couple.<\/p>\n

You can hear an example in this movie trailer<\/a> from \u304c\u3058\u307e\u308b\u98df\u5802\u306e\u604b<\/a> (“Gajimaru Restaurant’s Love”). \u304a\u524d is also pretty common in anime\u2014in this trailer for “Boruto,”<\/a> it’s mentioned several times:<\/p>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

You can find more examples of people using this word with the FluentU<\/a> program, where you can watch Japanese videos and interactive subtitles.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n \"FluentU\r\n

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