so! i decided to do a thread on the second person pronouns ("you") in japanese. this is that thread!

first i'm gonna go over some general information in regards to pronouns in both japanese and english, and then i'll go into detail on the nuances of the different "you"s in jpn!

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the (singular) second person pronoun in english is "you". we'll be focusing on the singular pronoun only in this thread (in both english and japanese), the one used to point to a person in front of you.

in english, subjects are required in sentences. words like "I" and "you" etc. can't be omitted if they're at the beginning of the sentence. you can't just say "went to the store", you have to say "I went to the store" or "you went to the store".

this means that in english, pronouns are used a LOT. anytime you're talking to someone, you'll almost certainly use the pronoun "you" repeatedly to refer to them. so there's not a lot of feeling attached to the word "you" in english.

it's not particularly formal or informal because it's present in all contexts. ((some people will say it's more polite to avoid the word "you", but that only works in very specific circumstances, and it depends person to person))

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however, in japanese, subjects are not required in sentences, and oftentimes it's much more natural to omit the subject entirely. saying スーパーに行った "suupaa ni itta" literally translates to "went to the store", where the subject (the person who went to the store) is implied

(it's usually whoever you've been talking about up until that point). and if you need to specify who you're talking about, it's much more common to use their name or title (like "senpai") rather than "you", even when you are talking about the person you are directly talking to.

so saying the word "you", unless you are talking to someone whose name you don't know, is generally very rare (i asked one of my japanese friends, and she said she never uses the word "you" in daily life, and rarely hears it; and my experiences have been similar).

despite the fact that the word "you" is rarely used, japanese has numerous words for it, each with slightly different connotations; this is something that doesn't exist in english. these different words for "you" show differences in the relationship between you and the person

you're talking to (such as distance, intimacy, respect, disrespect, difference in status), and can sometimes be used as a way of showing emotion or affection.

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in japanese, there are lots of unspoken rules for when to be more polite or casual. these rules rely on your social status in consideration with those you're talking to/about. those older than you are considered higher in status, therefore you're supposed to be more polite

to them, and those younger than you are lower in status, so you can be more casual. you're also supposed to be more polite to people you are less familiar with. men are also considered higher in status.

for reference, it's considered most polite to not use the word "you" at all, but to use a name or title.

in this thread, i'm going to focus on four of the most common or well-known words for "you" in japanese: あなた (anata) あんた (anta) きみ (kimi) and おまえ (omae).

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あなた (anata)

this is the most commonly known way to say "you" in japanese. it's typically thought of as the way to say "you" when talking to strangers. you can use it with people above or below you in status, or people you've just met.

in businesses where salespeople or storeclerks are speaking to customers, if they have to use the word "you" they'll use "anata", and homework assignments asking me to talk about my experiences for example have always used "anata".

some japanese speakers will find it rude if someone they don't know uses "anata" to them, but others will say it's perfectly fine. even though "anata" is a polite way to say "you", using the word "you" in japanese at all is very direct. japanese is a very indirect language, so

some people find being directly addressed by strangers rude. so avoiding "anata" unless it's necessary (or using alternative words like a title or their name if you know it) would be the most polite, and then if you need to use "you", "anata" would be the best choice.

since "anata" is commonly used with strangers, it's somewhat strange to use with friends or people you're close with. it has a sense of distance that can feel awkward or rude if you're close with someone (almost like you're saying the two of you aren't really that close).

the only case in which that distance is not present is in situations like a wife using it to her husband, in which case it's more of a term of endearment like "dear"; this seems to be a fading trend though, and younger wives don't tend to use it as much towards their husbands

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あんた (anta)

essentially, "anta" is an abbreviated form of あなた "anata". but because "anata" is commonly used as a more polite address, and abbreviations such as this are seen as a marker of casualness, "anta" is not interchangeable with "anata".

"anta" is not a polite form of address that you can use with strangers the same as "anata". it's seen as a more rude way of saying "you", and is typically used with those younger than you (your own children, younger siblings, etc). older people tend to use it more often.

some people will find it more rude to be called "anta" than other people will depending on the situation. it can also have a sense of annoyance towards the person it's being used to. for instance, it's sometimes used by parents when scolding their children.

the only time "anta" is interchangeable with "anata" is in a relationship where one person is using it to call the other person "dear".

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きみ (kimi)

this is another more commonly heard way to say "you" in japanese. like "anata", it's also polite, but it has less of a distance with it. it's for people you see more than once or on a somewhat consistent basis, so you don't use this to people you've never met before.

it's commonly used in businesses or companies by superiors talking to their subordinates, and some people will use it among their friends. it's not used to talk to people above you in age or status (that's disrespectful), but it's still a polite and respectful way to say "you"

to people equal or below you in status/younger than you.

some people will find being called "kimi" rude, and feel that you're looking down on them. "anata" doesn't have this caveat of necessarily considering your status in comparison to the other person's when using it, and can be used to those above or below you in status.

"kimi", however, can be used with people closer to you (like friends), unlike "anata".

i have been seeing people say this is a romantic way to say "you". that's...not true.

i asked one of my japanese friends about this, and she said that she's never heard anyone use "kimi" in real life, only in movies and dramas. she said that maybe because it's mainly used

in movies and tv, it could sound romantic to people in an unrealistic way, but that she's never thought of it to be romantic. she said the only time she might consider it romantic is in the middle of a romance scene, which says more about the scene than it does about the word.

"kimi" requires some sort of established relationship between the two people, such as friends or coworkers, people who see each other more than once or somewhat consistently. it's used more in media than in real life, so while it is possible to see it as romantic in that sense,

it's also used in that same media just as often (if not more) in completely non-romantic contexts (such as superiors talking to their subordinates in a company). so it's generally not viewed as romantic.

so it's really just another way to say "you", and saying "kimi" is romantic is... kinda like saying the word "you" is romantic in english... which obviously isn't true.

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おまえ (omae)

like "anta", this is considered a more rude or almost derogatory form of address. it's not polite (you don't use it with people you don't know), and it's generally used within groups of friends.

this word is only used with people close to you, so it has a sense of informality or casualness with it. using it with people outside of your close friends can come off as rude or derogatory. it's probably the most informal of the four pronouns i'm covering here.

some people say that it's a word only men use; it's definitely more common among men, but women are still able to and do use it.

some people will find it rude to be called "omae", similar to "anta", no matter how close you are with them.

like how "anata" can be used like "dear" to your partner, "omae" is sort of like the counterpart that husbands will use to their wives ("anata" is more commonly wives to husbands, and "anta" can be either husband or wife to each other).

fun fact, "omae" actually used to be a polite way to refer to people! not anymore

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so that's the end of this thread !! i hope it was useful and informative !!

btw i got all of this info from my own experiences in japan/with japanese language + lots of googling around to see other japanese people's perspectives + a jpn research paper on these four pronouns + a survey on "anata" + asking my japanese friend lots of questions on this all!!