{"id":63084,"date":"2015-08-14T11:30:58","date_gmt":"2015-08-14T02:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cotoacademy.com\/common-japanese-mistakes-pronouns-kare-kanojyo\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T18:58:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T09:58:07","slug":"common-japanese-mistakes-pronouns-kare-kanojyo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cotoacademy.com\/ja\/common-japanese-mistakes-pronouns-kare-kanojyo\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Japanese Mistakes: Pronouns \u5f7c (Kare) and \u5f7c\u5973 (Kanojo)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u300c\u5f7c\u300dKare and\u300c\u5f7c\u5973\u300dKanojo<\/a>
\u300c\u79c1\u300dWatashi<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0<\/div>\n

Japanese Personal Pronouns<\/strong> are really hard<\/strong> to get for Japanese learners. In truth, we rarely<\/strong> use them. Not only “I” \u300c\u79c1\u30fbwatashi\u300dand “you”\u300c\u3042\u306a\u305f\u30fbanata<\/a>\u300dare hard to get, but third person<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u300c\u5f7c\u300dKare and\u300c\u5f7c\u5973\u300dKanojo<\/h3>\n

Generally speaking, in the same way as anata (you), kare (he) and kanojo (she) are rarely used<\/strong>. However, in recent years, perhaps due to the influence of foreign language (particularly English), it has come into use when referring to a person objectively<\/strong>. That said, when used in reference to a socially superior person, it can sound a tad bit\u00a0impolite<\/strong>. Additionally, it can also be made to sound distant from your family members or other people close to you. Nevertheless, it would still be more natural to call these people by their\u00a0name or title<\/strong><\/p>\n

1)\uff08\u8fd1\u6240\u306e\u4eba\u3068\u306e\u4f1a\u8a71\uff09
A: \u3042\u3089\u3001\u4eca\u65e5\u306f\u4e00\u4eba\uff1f\u304a\u5b50\u3055\u3093\u306f\uff1f
B: \u4e3b\u4eba\u306e\u304a\u6bcd\u3055\u3093\u304c\u898b\u3066\u304f\u308c\u3066\u3044\u307e\u3059\u3002

\u5f7c\u5973\u304c<\/del> \u6bcd\u304c<\/strong><\/p>\n

\uff08Kinjyo no hito tono kaiwa\uff09
A: Ara, kyou wa hitori? Okosan wa?
B: Shuji no okaasan ga mite kurete imasu.

kanojyo ga<\/del> haha ga<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Conversation between people in the neighborhood)
A: Oh, you’re on your own today? What about your children?
B: My husband’s mother is watching them.

her<\/del>\u00a0mother<\/strong><\/p>\n

2)\uff08\u521d\u5bfe\u9762\u306e\u4eba\u3068\uff09
A: \u3054\u5bb6\u65cf\u306f\uff1f
B: \u59bb\u3068\u5a18\u4e00\u4eba\u3067\u3059\u3002

\u5f7c\u5973\u306f<\/del> \u5a18\u306f<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Shotaimen no hito to)
A: Gokazoku wa?
B: Tsuma to musume hitori desu.

Kanojyo wa<\/del>\u00a0Musume wa<\/strong> go-sai desu.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/div>\n

(People meeting for the first time)
A: Do you have a family?
B: I have a wife and a daughter.

She<\/del> My daughter<\/strong> is five.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/h3>\n

\u300c\u79c1\u300dWatashi<\/h3>\n

As for the\u00a0first-person pronoun watashi \u300c\u79c1 \u30fbwatashi\u300d, “I” , would be rarely used in Japanese. This is because in cases where there is a common ground in terms of the setting, the subject of the sentence would be deemed as\u00a0unnecessary\u00a0<\/strong>and would, therefore, get\u00a0omitted <\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

(\u81ea\u5df1\u7d39\u4ecb)
(\u79c1\u306f) \u5bb6\u5ead\u6559\u5e2b\u306e\u5ca1\u6751\u3067\u3059\u3002\u3088\u308d\u3057\u304f\u304a\u9858\u3044\u3057\u307e\u3059\u3002
(Jikoshoukai\uff09
(Watashi wa) Katei kyoushi no Okamura desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
(Self Introduction)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Furthermore, there are some people who do not even use “watashi”. The will refer to themselves by their own title<\/strong> from the third-person\u00a0point of view<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In these cases, the person to whom they are speaking is clearly a child. For example, a grandfather may say to a grandchild:<\/p>\n

\n

\u300c\u304a\u3058\u3044\u3061\u3083\u3093\uff08\u79c1\uff09\u306f\u82e5\u3044\u3068\u304d\u306f\u304b\u3063\u3053\u3088\u304b\u3063\u305f\u3093\u3060\u3088\u3002\u300d
“Ojiichan (=watashi) wa wakaitoki wa kakko yokattandayo.”
“Grandfather (I) was good-looking when I was young”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And a\u00a0teacher may say to a student:<\/p>\n

\n

\u300c\u5148\u751f\uff08\u79c1\uff09\u304c\u8a00\u3046\u3068\u304a\u308a\u306b\u3084\u3063\u3066\u306d\u3002\u300d
“Sensei (=watashi) ga iu toori ni yattene”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Conversely, small children often refer to themselves by name rather than using ‘watashi.’<\/p>\n

\n

\u300c\u3048\u308a\u3053\uff08\u79c1\uff09\u306f\u306d\u3001\u3044\u3061\u3054\u304c\u98df\u3079\u305f\u3044\u306e\u3002\u300d
“Eriko (=watashi) wa ne, ichigo ga tabetai no.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In rare cases, some people still\u00a0continue<\/strong><\/p>\n

Click this link to read about common mistakes in Japanese<\/a>, Ki o Tsukete!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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