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“YOU” in Japanese and how to address someone (Don't say anata)

NihongoDekita with Sayaka

426,581 views

Watch this video to learn different ways to address others like native Japanese speakers.

I've seen a lot of Japanese learners using あなた {anata} to talk to others, however, on normal occasions, it can sound rude or distant.

This video will focus on...
✅ How does each second-person pronoun sound to Japanese people?
✅ Is it even formal or casual?
✅ How native speakers use them in real life
✅ Other ways to address others
With a lot of example sentences.

The second person pronouns that are covered in this video are…
🔸 あなた {anata}
🔸 あんた {anta}
🔸 お前 {おまえ| omae}
🔸 君 {きみ | kimi}
🔸 貴様 {きさま | kisama}
🔸 てめぇ {temee}
🔸 僕 {ぼく | boku}
🔸 自分 {じぶん| jibe}

And other ways that I recommend using to address others are…
🔸 Names
🔸 (Omitting “you” completely)
🔸 Family Roles
🔸 Social Titles

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🎬Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
00:51 - あなた (anata)
04:14 - あんた (anta)
05:57 - お前 (omae)
07:48 - 君 (kimi)
08:44 - てめぇ(Temee)/貴様(Kisama)/自分(Jibun)/僕(Boku)
09:56 - Name & Nickname
10:24 - Omitting "you"
11:36 - Honorific titles
12:20 - When you forget their names
15:36 - Family Roles
17:03 - Social Titles

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こんにちは！Hi everyone!I'm Sayaka from NihongoDekita, and I love teaching Japanese and sharing Japanese culture. My goal is to make learning Japanese FUN and EASY, and to teach you REAL, AUTHENTIC JAPANESE beyond textbooks! 😊✨
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20 Comments

@heethanthen 2 years ago (edited)

Person: uses any word in Japanese
Japanese people: “and I took that personally”

@Dion06 6 months ago (edited)

Japanese: there are 10 words for each pronoun.
Also Japanese: don't use any of them.

@andrewcristopher2102 2 years ago

Sayaka: "There is 1.000 ways to say "you" in Japanese.
Me: "So wich one I should use?"
Sayaka: None of them!

@meiradoeshavealife 2 years ago

When I was a kid, Spirited Away was one of my favorite movies. The mother in it constantly called her husband "anata" but the translation in my first language would always translate it to "darling" or "sweetheart", so I grew up thinking it's basically a very sweet thing to call your significant other.

@javiernet6349 2 years ago

All I could think about when she mentioned "omae" was "omae wa mou shindeiru"

@Crackpunch 2 years ago

This explains why you'll hear a character's name in an anime but the subtitle will say "you".

@contagiousscorpio7048 2 years ago

Calling each other by their names seems like a positive thing! Creates individuality

@archangelofbaal 2 years ago

I noticed in historical dramas, wives would often call their husbands "omae-sama", which sure sounds like a weird pairing now.

@strengthspeedfury 10 months ago

i used to think "anata" meant "dear" because i heard wives address their husbands this way; learning JP is so much fun, the nuance never ends and the language just flows

@ephraimhallancia9586 2 years ago

I honestly love how you break down the sentence and make it easy to understand :face-red-heart-shape:

@jootpepet 2 years ago

Randomly decided to learn japanese at 3am

@robrs8631 2 years ago

“Hey, how are you doing?”

“How rude!!!”

@JuanDi_SDK 2 years ago

Press F for Sayaka's little brother and what his sisters did to him

@FuntimeMFZ 2 years ago

it's funny how there are so many ways to say "you" but none of them are preferrable 😭

@motojojo_ 2 years ago

So… in theory, omae is equivalent to ’mate’ in British English

@valendis 2 years ago

I find it insane that nowadays we get to learn japanese for free on youtube... What a great content!

@LeonBlack666 1 year ago

got it, so never use the word you in japanese in any context ever even if its a password that can save the world.

@ConquerRun 2 years ago (edited)

The way Japanese speakers are formal and informal is so amazing to me. In English, even if you ask your Mom "How is she" You really wouldn't say "How you doin?" Or "Whats up, Mom"
You say something like "How has your day been, Mom?" Or "What has your week been like, Mom?" Its interesting now that I think about it, because in English we are also formal without even realizing it and informal without realizing it too. Many times in school, I wouldn't get a response from my teacher if I responded to them like I would my bros, like "Whats up, bro?" No response. "How you doin, man?" No response. "How's your day been, Mr. Jones". response "It's been well, thank you. And you?"

@TyTyMcGinty 2 years ago

Sayaka does such a great job that it’s absolutely no surprise the channel is about to hit 1,000,000 subscribers!

@Kaleidosium 2 years ago

Indonesia actually has similar Sociolinguistics! “Anda”, our version of あなた is rarely used and we instead use a honorific plus their first name, so to refer to me, you’d say “Bu Dania”. However we do use informal/casual second person pronouns like Kamu and Lu more often.