Guest viewing is limited

Which Personal Pronoun to Use

S

sensene

TAG Member
Joined
May 18, 2023
Messages
23
Reaction score
22
This might just be the dumbest thread in here asking about Japanese help but I was wondering about which personal pronouns to use when there is a need to use one. I'll just go over the main 3 for guys. From what I understand, 私 is gender-neutral in formal circumstances although it takes a slightly feminine connotation in casual contexts. 俺 isn't a great idea unless you are close and it's a casual setting and you actually know the language so you don't fuck up by using ore with formal sentences. 僕 basically works as a casual 私.

The question is, what do I use for the meetups. Or maybe I'm overthinking and there would never be a situation in which I couldn't just avoid using a personal pronoun. I read the old How Fluent is Fluent thread and I guess I should use 僕？Guess it comes down to what is considered formal and casual. What is even considered casual (is talking to a stranger considered formal but talking to store clerk or a waitress or something casual?). I'll be visiting for tourism and won't be dealing with obviously formal situations like business meetings but not sure if the same formal and business categories over in the US would apply similarly.
 
Just keep it simple, man. “Watashi” will never fail you.
 
  • Like
Reactions: hamsap
sensene said:
僕 basically works as a casual 私.
Click to expand...
It's also usually only used by younger males.

As others have said, there's nothing wrong with 私 in non-formal contexts. No one will read a feminine connotation to using that word for meetups.
 
sensene said:
This might just be the dumbest thread in here asking about Japanese help but I was wondering about which personal pronouns to use when there is a need to use one. I'll just go over the main 3 for guys. From what I understand, 私 is gender-neutral in formal circumstances although it takes a slightly feminine connotation in casual contexts. 俺 isn't a great idea unless you are close and it's a casual setting and you actually know the language so you don't fuck up by using ore with formal sentences. 僕 basically works as a casual 私.

The question is, what do I use for the meetups. Or maybe I'm overthinking and there would never be a situation in which I couldn't just avoid using a personal pronoun. I read the old How Fluent is Fluent thread and I guess I should use 僕？Guess it comes down to what is considered formal and casual. What is even considered casual (is talking to a stranger considered formal but talking to store clerk or a waitress or something casual?). I'll be visiting for tourism and won't be dealing with obviously formal situations like business meetings but not sure if the same formal and business categories over in the US would apply similarly.
Click to expand...

I'm assuming you're visibly foreign, so WATASHI will suffice and just stick to that. The natives will be tickled pink that you're so polite. Personally, as an ethnically-Japanese guy who spent years in Osaka, I've only resorted to WATASHI when I was in trouble and in an official or formal capacity. Kansai men generally use ORE or BOKU, but then again that's the classless shithole that is Kansai. Using WATASHI as a male makes you sound like a pussy in Osaka. But you're a gaijin, so just the fact that you can speak some Japanese will be enough to impress.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Maxblack and hamsap
Keihan said:
I'm assuming you're visibly foreign, so WATASHI will suffice and just stick to that. The natives will be tickled pink that you're so polite. Personally, as an ethnically-Japanese guy who spent years in Osaka, I've only resorted to WATASHI when I was in trouble and in an official or formal capacity. Kansai men generally use ORE or BOKU, but then again that's the classless shithole that is Kansai. Using WATASHI as a male makes you sound like a pussy in Osaka. But you're a gaijin, so just the fact that you can speak some Japanese will be enough to impress.
Click to expand...
While I'm not sure how well I would pass on appearances alone, I'm Asian-American. Although I suppose I would be pretty obviously recognized gaijin as soon as I start speaking with my probably accented beginner JP.
 
Ore. Accept no substitutes.

And be sure to give R a good solid roll, like a drunken Glaswegian.
 
  • Like
  • Haha
  • Wow
Reactions: Maxblack, Acid Burn, requiemmorrow and 4 others
if you're using a personal pronoun then your Japanese is wrong. The only time you need to say watashi etc if there is clear ambiguity
eg
Whose drink is this?
私の
 
psd said:
The only time you need to say watashi etc if there is clear ambiguity
Click to expand...
Seconding this. Dropping pronouns (especially personal) is a trick you can use to sound more fluent.
 
Some people (mostly male) still use "jibun" (an old military term). The problem is that it means " I " in Kanto but "You" in Kansai.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ThaWeeknd
You must log in or register to reply here.