The rule is that one shouldn't use second-person pronouns, despite multiple existing, but use the person's name/title or imply. However, in anime, games and other Japanese productions, it seems to work differently (I see people using them all the time), I wonder about its reasons. Avoiding personal name is less of a rule as well.
But that's not the only thing I'm noticing, but also the application of these pronouns.
– Anata: theoretically it's only for unknown people or women with their romantic partners (it's an interesting purpose contrast because the pronoun is said to create distance if you know the person). Curiously, in Tekken 8, Jun refers to her own son, Jin, as "anata". Isn't it odd for a mother to use this pronoun for her son?
– Kimi: theoretically it's only for people of lower rank or at least younger than you (either formal, belittling or affectionate), but in GO!GO!7188's song Ukifune it's used all the time. I wonder if it would be because the singer had a younger boyfriend or something like that.
– Omae: used mainly for rude contexts, but also between male friends. I have heard that some even use for romantic partners and children too.
– Kisama: sometimes considered the worst pronoun, despite its original purpose, between people who hate each other. But I have heard that people in the navy would use it towards each other and even that friends would use it today '-' A source (Japanese With Anime) says that nobody uses this pronoun in real life though.
– Temee: some say it's worse than kisama, Japanese With Anime seems to imply that kisama is worse. Either way, I see temee way less often than kisama. It's said to be vulgar and "less refined", like something a thug would use. A comparison I saw was that "kisama" would carry the weight of "you bastard" and "temee" would carry the weight of "you motherfucker" though.
My curiosity is mainly about the two first ones but I am fascinated by these terms in general. I wonder if anata would be used with family and friends in an anime context. I have seen some men referring to their romantic interests "kimi" and I found it cute but there was a manual saying it wasn't supposed to be used (though in my humble opinion it's nicer than omae).
And first-person pronouns seem to disobey rules as well, because the male pronoun "ore" is supposed to be used towards people of equal or lower rank, some characters use it for everyone. Is it to show their unruliness? I have seen characters use it towards people they respect though.
by duchesskitten6
1 comment
Well, the rule of ‘no 2nd person pronouns’ is really only a rule for learners of Japanese, in order to prevent major screwups by picking the wrong pronoun. The Japanese themselves do use second person pronouns, that’s why they exist; just, far less than in English.
Don’t use either temee or kisama unless you’re trying to start a fight. That said, in a *fictional* context, temee is sometimes used in rough conversation between friends.
‘kimi’ is used in *song* all the time as the 2nd person pronoun for the romantic interest, especially but not exclusively in songs from a male point of view… which is not the same as songs with a male singer. This can spill over into real life usage towards romantic partners, but caution should be used, some women don’t like it.
Tough characters (especially anime, but also in action shows/movies) often use ‘ore’ and plain speech in ways that would be inappropriate in real life. It helps signify how tough they are, and how unrestrained they are by rules. But also, such shows often portray non-everyday situations. It would make sense that the speech patterns of urban civilians would not match those of soldiers on a battlefield or sailors on the high seas, but I’ve never been in those situations at all much less with Japanese speakers to be able to say exactly how they speak in real life.
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