Nouns and Pronouns　名詞と代名詞

Nouns & Pronouns　
名詞と代名詞

※From this point forward, romanization will not be offered so as to facilitate your immersion with Japanese writing. You are encouraged to download Rikaikun for reading assistance.

In English, nouns are often defined as words representing a person, place, or thing. They can be broadly categorized into common nouns and proper nouns:

• Common nouns: Generic names for people, places, or things. They are not capitalized by default. Examples include “car,” “island,” and “genius.”
• Proper nouns: Names for specific people, places, or things, and they are usually capitalized. Examples include “Mt. Everest” and “Queen Elizabeth II.”

The Japanese Definition of “Noun”　日本語における「名詞」の定義

In Japanese, nouns typically refer to:

• Physical objects (物体)
• Substances (物質)
• People (人物)
• Places (場所)
• Abstract concepts, including the word for “concept” itself (概念).

Like English, Japanese distinguishes between common nouns and proper nouns:

• Common nouns: Examples include 学校 (school) and 歌 (song).
• Proper nouns: Examples include 富士山 (Mt. Fuji) and 東京タワー (Tokyo Tower).

Unlike English, Japanese does not possess inflections for the following grammatical functions:

• Grammatical gender¹: The word 猫 meaning “cat” can refer to male or female cats, and the word itself is not categorized as a “masculine” or “feminine” word.
• Grammatical number²: The word 猫 can refer to any number of cats (one or more) depending on context.

Common Nouns　
普通名詞

Common nouns comprise the majority of nouns. They represent the names of anything and everything within their definitions. For instance, 木 means “tree,” and it is used to describe any and all trees. To be more specific, you can add a modifier to the word, or you can use the specific name of the tree in question, which will also be a common noun. As an example, 柳 specifically means “willow.”

Mastering common nouns will be a significant part of studying kanji. While it is not necessary to learn the kanji spelling of every noun you encounter right away, it’s always beneficial to familiarize yourself with how they are written. Seeing their kanji forms helps reinforce recognition and builds a deeper understanding over time.

Noun	Meaning	Noun	Meaning
青	Blue	赤	Red
秋	Autumn	朝	Morning
足	Foot	脚	Leg
頭	Head	兄	Older brother
姉	Older sister	犬	Dog
妹	Younger sister	音	Sound
弟	Younger brother	川	River
黒	Black	白	White
猫	Cat	人	Person
水	Water	夜	Night

Proper Nouns　
固有名詞

Just as in English, proper nouns in Japanese refer to specific entities, such as organizations, toponyms (place names), or anything that would typically be capitalized in English. While capitalization does not exist in Japanese, proper nouns referring to people often include titles of respect (敬称) affixed to them.

1. 金子さんはいますか。
Is Kaneko-san here?

2. 八百屋さんに行きます！
I’m going to the greengrocer!

As Ex. 2 shows, the polite title ～さん can go after shop types, referring to the people who work there as being synonymous with the shops themselves.

Personal Names　
人名

Personal names in Japanese consist of a family name (苗字) followed by a given name (名前). As you begin learning Japanese, certain names will quickly become familiar, such as those of the Prime Minister (総理大臣) or members of the Japanese Royal Family (皇族).

You might also know Japanese individuals personally or have favorite athletes, singers, or other public figures. Whoever they are, practicing with their names is a great way to improve your Japanese!

English	Japanese	English	Japanese
Joe Biden	ジョー・バイデン	Shigeru Ishiba	石破茂
Keigo Higashino	東野圭吾	Hillary Clinton	ヒラリー・クリントン

Place Names
地名

In addition to learning the names of countries, U.S. states, and Japanese prefectures, you will also encounter the names of important islands, mountains, lakes, streets, and more. For example, landmarks like 富士山 (Mt. Fuji) and 琵琶湖 (Lake Biwa) are essential to know, especially when traveling to Japan.

Similarly to personal names, place names often feature specific kanji spellings. Fortunately, most street and traffic signs in Japan include romanized spellings alongside the Japanese text, making navigation easier for learners and travelers.

English	Japanese	English	Japanese
Tokyo	東京	Kyoto	京都
Osaka	大阪	Yokohama	横浜
Japan	日本	America	アメリカ
China	中国	South Korea	韓国
Asia	アジア	Europe	ヨーロッパ
Africa	アフリカ	Australia	オーストラリア
Antarctica	南極大陸	India	インド

A Map of Japan　
日本地図

Japan consists of four main islands and several important island chains:

1. 北海道 (Hokkaido): The large northern island.
2. 本州 (Honshu): The slender island that stretches across the length of the country.
3. 四国 (Shikoku): The smaller island, often depicted in purple on maps.
4. 九州 (Kyushu): The largest southern island.

Additionally:

• The 沖縄 (Okinawa) island chain lies to the south of Kyushu.
• The 千島列島 (Chishima = Kuril Islands), north of Hokkaido, is a disputed territory claimed by both Russia and Japan.

Japan is divided into 47 state-like administrative divisions, collectively referred to as 都道府県. Each prefecture’s name ends with one of the following:

1. ～都: Reserved for the capital prefecture, 東京都 (Tokyo Metropolis).
2. ～道: Designated solely for 北海道 (Hokkaido).
3. ～府: Used for the metropolitan prefectures 大阪府 (Osaka Prefecture) and 京都府 (Kyoto Prefecture).
4. ～県: Applied to all other prefectures.

Organization Names　
組織名

Closely related to place names, learning the names of organizations is an essential part of building your Japanese vocabulary. These include businesses, institutions, universities, churches, shrines, and more.

If you plan to live in Japan, knowing the names of everyday locations—stores, banks, train stations, parks, theme parks, etc.—will become even more important. These terms will make up a significant percentage of the nouns you encounter and use regularly.

English	Japanese	English	Japanese
Wikipedia	ウィキペディア	Ueno Zoo	上野動物園
Mizuho Bank	みずほ銀行	McDonalds	マクドナルド
The United Nations	国連	7-Eleven	セブン（イレブン）

Addresses　
住所の書き方

Japanese addresses are written in the reverse order as they are in English. This follows the “macro-to-micro” ordering of words observed in Japanese grammar—country, region (state/prefecture/county/province), city (ward/town), neighborhood (district), street, building, unit.

3. 佐々木さんは東京都新宿区落合２丁目〇〇−〇〇に住んでいます。
Sasaki-san lives in District 2 of Ochiai in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo Prefecture.

Pronouns　
代名詞

A pronoun (代名詞) indirectly refers to an entity, such as a person, place, or thing, with its meaning determined by context. For example, proper names function as pronouns because they stand in place of the actual entity they represent.

Consider the name “Seth.” This could refer to the creator of いまび, or it could refer to any person named “Seth.” Without context, the specific reference remains unclear, making the name a pronoun.

Similarly, words like “here” and “there” or even “this” and “that” are also pronouns, as their meaning depends entirely on context. Without additional information, their reference is indeterminate.

Personal Pronouns　
人称代名詞

Generally, when we think of pronouns, we think about pronouns that are used to establish “grammatical person.” These are called personal pronouns, and in English, they are as follows.

Person　人称	Singular　単数	Plural　複数
1st Person　第一人称	I	We
2nd Person　第二人称	You	You (all)
3rd Person　第三人称	He/she/it	They

In English, both gender and number influence the choice of pronoun. However, Japanese does not have a single pronoun that corresponds directly to each combination found in English.

This difference arises because all Japanese pronouns originally developed as common nouns. As such, their usage varies depending on several factors:

1. Speech register: Whether the speech is plain, polite, casual, or formal.
2. Speaker and listener demographics: Influenced by factors like age, gender, occupation, and dialect.
3. The person being addressed: Pronouns change based on the relationship and social context.

To begin, we will focus on learning the most essential pronouns, revisiting this topic later to explore just how many pronoun options there are in Japanese.

For the purposes of starting out, we will start off by learning only the most essential pronouns, then we will return to the topic later.

1st Person Pronouns (I)　
第一人称

There are three essential pronouns that mean “I”: わたし, わたくし, 僕. 

私（わたし）: All beginner texts will introduce this word as the basic word for “I.” Without a doubt, it is the best equivalent that Modern Japanese has to offer. However, its overuse is problematic, as Japanese speakers themselves hardly use it. When it does appear, the speaker is often bringing the focus of conversation on themselves. Overall, female speakers do tend to use it more than men in casual conversation, as men prefer using other pronouns in those situations.
Plural: 私たち

私（わたくし）: The original form of the word, is the preferred pronunciation of 私 in formal speech. Like first person pronouns in general, it is not used constantly, but it is important to pair it with respectful language. 
Plural: 私たち³

僕: This pronoun is becoming the preferred pronoun for men of all ages, but there are situations in which women may be heard using it⁴. The word has very humble origins, and it is actually becoming more commonly heard even in honorific speech (by men only). Although the word is not “gendered” per se, Japanese society does expect the speaker to be male.
Plural: 僕たち

4. ｛わたし・わたしたち｝は、ご飯を食べます。
[I/we] will eat dinner.

5. ｛僕・僕たちは｝カラオケに行きます。
[I’m/we’re] going to karaoke.

6. わたくしたちは仏様を拝みます。
We revere Buddha.

2nd Person Pronouns　
第二人称

Second person pronouns in Japanese are particularly avoided. Although there are many words that equate to “you,” they are all very sensitive to context. That being said, we will only be studying the one word for “you” that will get you in the least amount of trouble if overused or used incorrectly.

あなた: This is arguably the only word for “you” that pertains to a beginner. Most natives would not fault you for using it incorrectly, but try only using it when you absolutely do not know the name of the person you are talking to, as it is customary in Japan to refer to people in the third person. Even when you are asking questions like “Is this your pen?”, it is more proper to ask, “Is this [person’s name]’s pen?”
Plural: あなたたち

7. あなたの番です。
It’s your turn.

There are some limited contexts in which あなた, along with its plural form あなたたち, are fairly neutral in polite conversation when the target listeners are, in fact, second-language speakers of Japanese, as the overuse of second-person is associated with European languages from the exposure Japanese speakers have to English in school.

8. あなたたちはイギリス人ですか？
Are you all British?

Imagine you are in a train station and you notice that the person in front of you dropped their wallet. Provided they are a complete stranger to you, there is no way you would know their name. Yet, stopping a stranger requires that you speak to them in polite speech. Here, we find あなた not polite enough to warrant its use, and so we find that it is far more natural to not use a pronoun at all.

9. すみません、落とし物です！
Excuse me, you dropped something!

In the Japanese, the noun-predicate 落とし物です is used instead of a verbal predicate that would otherwise use the verb 落とす meaning “to drop…” ～物 meaning “thing” is incorporated into the noun-predicate, resulting in a more literal translation of “Excuse me, this is a dropped item (of yours).”

3rd Person Pronouns　
第三人称

Third-person is arguably the most common category of pronouns in spoken Japanese, largely because any name counts as a third-person pronoun.

10. テイラー君はきょう、何をしますか。
What are you going to do today, Taylor?

If we narrow our scope to just the personal pronouns for “he” and “she,” we find that they too are not used nearly as much because of how they could be interpreted differently.

彼: This is the Japanese equivalent of “he,” but it is not used as much as its English counterpart because it is custom to refer to people with their actual name and/or title. When it is used, it is often used to mean “boyfriend” instead of “he,” especially in casual conversation. 
Plural: 彼ら

彼女: This is the Japanese equivalent of “she,” but it is not used as much as its English counterpart, the reason being that it may mean “girlfriend” in casual conversation. It is worth noting that both 彼 and 彼女 should be treated as “he” and “she” respectively in polite conversations.
Plural: 彼女たち

彼たち is essentially not used⁵. Instead, 彼ら may be used, which may refer to men and women collectively. However, if a group is exclusively composed of women, you should use 彼女たち. How ～たち and ～ら truly contrast will be a topic for future discussion.

11. 彼に連絡してみます。
I’ll try contacting him.

12. 彼女たちは美しいです。
They *women only* are beautiful.

13. 彼（氏）の身長は何センチですか？
How many centimeters tall is your boyfriend?

Word Note: Although 彼 may mean “boyfriend,” it is often seen as 彼氏 for this meaning.

Demonstrative Pronouns
指示代名詞

A pronoun that refers to a place or thing is called a demonstrative pronoun, or colloquially known in Japanese as こそあど—named after the first mora that starts words made from each category. Although we will revisit this topic to truly grasp them, those shown below are the most essential to everyday conversation.

Close to Speaker	Close to Listener/ Known to Speaker Only	Far from Speaker & Listener/ Known to Speaker & Listener	Question
Here	There	Over There	Where
ここ	そこ	あそこ	どこ
This	That	That (Over There)	Which
これ	それ	あれ	どれ

You may have noticed that the English pronoun “it” has not been mentioned so far in this lesson. This is because the best equivalent happens to be それ. However, in many contexts where “it” would commonly be used in English, Japanese instead specifies the actual referent—provided the subject and object are overtly stated in the sentence.

Proximity-Based Distinctions

When referring to visible entities, as demonstrated by the chart above, Japanese makes a three-way distinction based on the entity’s proximity to the speaker and listener:

1. Near the speaker
2. Near the listener but not the speaker
3. Far from both the speaker and listener(s)

These distinctions are an essential part of Japanese pronoun usage and provide clarity in conversations.

14. これを下さい。
Give me this (one), please.

15. それは何ですか？
What is that (there)?

When the entity discussed is not physically visible, there is a two-way distinction made based on who knows about the entity in question. Does only one side know about the entity, in which case それ is used, or do both the speaker and listener(s) know about it, in which case あれ is used.

16. あれは本当に難しい問題なんですね。(Mutual Recognition of Entity)
That really is a difficult problem, huh.

17. それが分かりません。(Speaker Lacks Knowledge Base)
That I don’t know.

As for the question words, this spatial distinction is not found, but what is found is another variation. For now, just know that there are two basic words for “which,” which differ by how many choices are involved: どっち (between two choices) and どれ (between 3+ choices).

18. カタルーニャはどこですか。
Where is Catalonia?

19. クリスマスにプレゼントを贈るのと貰うのとではどっちのほうが好きですか？
Between giving presents and receiving presents on Christmas, which do you like better?

20. どれを選びますか？
Which one (among these 3+ items) will you choose?

Possessive Pronouns　
所有代名詞

Neither nouns nor pronouns decline (change form to represent some syntactic function) in Japanese, unlike in English. In English, one of the most important declensions (form changes) for pronouns is the possessive form. For example:

The possessive form of “I” is “mine,” and its adjective form is “my.”

How Possession is marked in Japanese

In Japanese, possession is expressed by adding the particle の to nouns and pronouns alike.

English	Japanese	English	Japanese
My	わたしの わたくしの  ぼくの	Mine	わたしの（もの） わたくしの（もの） ぼくの（もの）
Your	あなたの	Yours	あなたの（もの）
His	彼の	His	彼の（もの）
Her	彼女の	Hers	彼女の（もの）
The cat’s	猫の	The cat’s	猫の（もの）

もの means “thing,” but its presence is not necessary to create possessive pronouns. Most importantly, as was hinted at just a moment ago, the phrases that correspond to possessive adjectives in English also function like adjectives in Japanese, but they need to be placed before another noun. 

21. これはわたしのペンです。
This is my pen.

The demonstrative pronouns can be used in a similar way, but for this/that/that over there, the final れ is dropped before の but only if these words are not completely taking the place of another noun. It is the difference between “this” and “of this.”

22. このペンは彼の（もの）です。
This pen is his.

23. これの意味がわかりません。
I don’t know the meaning of this.

In fact, この, その, and あの are specifically referred to as 連体詞, which form an odd group of words that are translated as pre-noun adjectival words. They only go before nouns and they cannot undergo any sort of alteration. On the contrary, これの, それの, あれの, ここの, そこの, and あそこの function as typical pronoun phrases. 

We will return to learning about adjectives as well as demonstrative words several times in the near future, so learning all this grammar now is not too important. The point being made is that neither nouns nor pronouns decline (change form). The declensions (form changes) that do exist for them in English get expressed by some sort of suffix or a particle like how we saw the particle の functioning like the word “of.” 

Question Pronouns
疑問詞

Question pronouns, also known as interrogatives, form questions. As with everything else in this lesson, we will return to this category of words in a later lesson. For now, below are the most essential ones to get you started.

English	Japanese
Who	誰
What	何
When	いつ
Where	どこ
Which	どっち (between 2) どれ (between 3+)

24. どこに行きましたか。
Where did you go?

25. 誰ですか？
Who are (you)?
Who is (he/she)?

26. お飲み物は何がいいですか。
What would you like to drink?
Literally: What would be good for drink?

1. Grammatical gender refers to assigning gender categories to nouns. A common means of division is masculine and feminine. Japanese does not have this feature whatsoever. If a speaker needs to describe biological sex, there are regular, common nouns for doing so. ↩︎
2. Suffixes do exist to indicate plurality. However, they are not obligatory, and they tend to be more complex than just indicating more than one. ↩︎
3. Many speakers prefer 私共. See this lesson for more on pronoun plural forms.  ↩︎
4. Situations include music, in which it will be spelled in hiragana as a means of making the word gender neutral, as well as people in the LGBT community. When a woman does choose to use 僕, they are superimposing the normal gender roles associated with the pronoun onto themselves. ↩︎
5. 彼たち is not entirely ungrammatical, but situations in which it could sound less unnatural are few and far between. ↩︎