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Japanese pronouns (代名詞, daimeishi) are words in the Japanese language used to address or refer to present people or things, where present means people or things that can be pointed at. The position of things (far away, nearby) and their role in the current interaction (goods, addresser, addressee , bystander) are features of the meaning ...
Japanese exhibits pronoun avoidance, meaning that using pronouns is often too direct in Japanese, and considered offensive or strange. [6] One would not use pronouns for oneself, 私 (watashi, 'I'), or for another, あなた (anata, 'you'), but instead would omit pronouns for oneself, and call the other person by name:
Many languages feature the T–V distinction, where two or more different pronouns are used contextually to convey formality or familiarity.In contrast, languages with pronoun avoidance tend to feature complex systems of honorifics and use pronoun avoidance as a form of negative politeness, [2] instead employing expressions referring to status, relationship or title. [1]
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Conversely, pronouns are closed classes in Western languages but open classes in Japanese and some other East Asian languages. In a few cases historically, and much more commonly recently, new verbs are created by appending the suffix-ru (〜る) to a noun or using it to replace the end of a word.
The Japanese language makes use of a system of honorific speech, called keishō (敬称), which includes honorific suffixes and prefixes when talking to, or referring to others in a conversation. Suffixes are often gender-specific at the end of names, while prefixes are attached to the beginning of many nouns.
Japanese uses honorific constructions to show or emphasize social rank, social intimacy or similarity in rank. The choice of pronoun used, for example, will express the social relationship between the person speaking and the person being referred to, and Japanese often avoids pronouns entirely in favor of more explicit titles or kinship terms. [2]
English: Aeron Buchanan's Japanese Verb Chart: a concise summary of Japanese verb conjugation, handily formatted to fit onto one sheet of A4. Also includes irregulars, adjectives and confusing verbs. Also includes irregulars, adjectives and confusing verbs.