Talking About People
People are the heart of every conversation — your family, your friends, your teacher, the person you just met. This chapter equips you with the words for family members, pronouns (and when not to use them!), the famous name suffixes like 〜さん, occupations, and basic body parts. Along the way you'll discover one of the most Japanese features of the language: different words for your own family versus someone else's.
1. Family: Two Sets of Words
Japanese politeness distinguishes between your in-group (your own family — speak of them humbly) and someone else's family (speak of them respectfully). So "mother" has two words: my mother = 母 (haha), your/his/her mother = お母さん (okāsan).
| Family member | My… (humble) | Someone else's… (respectful) |
|---|---|---|
| father | 父 (chichi) | お父さん (otōsan) |
| mother | 母 (haha) | お母さん (okāsan) |
| older brother | 兄 (ani) | お兄さん (onīsan) |
| older sister | 姉 (ane) | お姉さん (onēsan) |
| younger brother | 弟 (otōto) | 弟さん (otōtosan) |
| younger sister | 妹 (imōto) | 妹さん (imōtosan) |
| grandfather | 祖父 (sofu) | おじいさん (ojīsan) |
| grandmother | 祖母 (sobo) | おばあさん (obāsan) |
| uncle | おじ (oji) | おじさん (ojisan) |
| aunt | おば (oba) | おばさん (obasan) |
| parents | 両親 (ryōshin) | ご両親 (goryōshin) |
| family | 家族 (kazoku) | ご家族 (gokazoku) |
| siblings | 兄弟 (kyōdai) | ご兄弟 (gokyōdai) |
Notice the pattern: the respectful set adds お/ご and 〜さん. And remember the long-vowel traps from the kana chapters: おじさん (ojisan, uncle) vs おじいさん (ojīsan, grandfather); おばさん (obasan, aunt) vs おばあさん (obāsan, grandmother). One extra beat adds a generation!
Also note: Japanese always distinguishes older vs younger siblings — there is no plain word for just "brother". Whether they're 兄 or 弟 matters!
Which set do I use when?
- Talking about your own family to others: humble set — 父はぎんこういんです (Chichi wa ginkōin desu) — "My father is a bank employee."
- Talking about someone else's family: respectful set — お父さんはおげんきですか (Otōsan wa o-genki desu ka) — "Is your father well?"
- Calling out to your own family at home: respectful set again! Children call their mom お母さん. (You honor them to their face, and humble them when describing them to outsiders.)
2. Pronouns — and Why Japanese Avoids Them
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning & nuance |
|---|---|---|
| 私 | watashi | I — the safe, polite default for everyone |
| 僕 | boku | I — used by males, soft/casual |
| 俺 | ore | I — used by males, very casual/rough; friends only! |
| あなた | anata | you — use sparingly! (see below) |
| あの人 | ano hito | that person (he/she) |
| あの方 | ano kata | that person (respectful version) |
| 私たち | watashitachi | we (〜たち makes people-words plural) |
| みんな / みなさん | minna / minasan | everyone (casual / polite) |
The あなた warning: in English, "you" is unavoidable. In Japanese, あなた can sound distant, testy, or even like a wife addressing her husband in old dramas! The natural habit is to use the person's name + さん instead, or drop the word entirely: to ask Tanaka "Are you a student?", say たなかさんはがくせいですか (Tanaka-san wa gakusei desu ka) — literally "Is Tanaka-san a student?" — while looking at Tanaka. Combined with Japanese's love of dropping obvious subjects (remember the intro chapter?), you'll find you rarely need pronouns at all.
3. Name Suffixes: さん・ちゃん・くん・さま・せんせい
Attaching a suffix to names is essential politeness — using a bare name (呼び捨て, yobisute) is only for very close relationships:
| Suffix | Use with | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 〜さん (san) | the all-purpose polite suffix — adults, colleagues, strangers; works for Mr/Mrs/Ms alike | たなかさん (Tanaka-san) |
| 〜ちゃん (chan) | small children, close female friends, cute things | ゆきちゃん (Yuki-chan) |
| 〜くん (kun) | boys, male juniors at school/work | けんくん (Ken-kun) |
| 〜さま (sama) | very respectful — customers (お客様!), letters, deities | やまださま (Yamada-sama) |
| 〜せんせい (sensei) | teachers, doctors, professors — replaces さん | さとうせんせい (Satō-sensei) |
Golden rules: never attach さん to your own name ("I'm Tanaka-san" sounds like calling yourself "the honorable me"), and when in doubt, さん is always safe. Japanese people usually go by family name + さん in daily life; first names are for family and close friends.
4. Words for People
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 人 | hito | person |
| 男の人 | otoko no hito | man |
| 女の人 | onna no hito | woman |
| 子ども | kodomo | child |
| 男の子 / 女の子 | otoko no ko / onna no ko | boy / girl |
| 大人 | otona | adult |
| 友だち | tomodachi | friend |
| 学生 | gakusei | student |
| 先生 | sensei | teacher |
| 外国人 | gaikokujin | foreigner |
| 〜人 | -jin | nationality suffix: 日本人 (nihonjin, Japanese person), アメリカ人 (amerikajin, American) |
The 〜人 (jin) suffix is a gift: country + 人 = nationality. 中国人 (chūgokujin, Chinese), フランス人 (furansujin, French). Similarly 〜語 (go) = language: 日本語 (nihongo), フランス語 (furansugo). Learn a country name, get three words free!
5. Occupations
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 会社員 | kaishain | company employee, office worker |
| 銀行員 | ginkōin | bank employee |
| 店員 | ten'in | shop clerk |
| 医者 | isha | doctor |
| 看護師 | kangoshi | nurse |
| 教師 | kyōshi | teacher (humble, for describing your own job — 先生 is what others call you!) |
| エンジニア | enjinia | engineer |
| 主婦 | shufu | homemaker |
Pattern to enjoy: 〜員 (in) means "member/staff", so 会社 (company) + 員 = company employee; 銀行 (bank) + 員 = banker; 店 (shop) + 員 = clerk. Asking someone's job: おしごとは何ですか (O-shigoto wa nan desu ka) — "What is your work?"
6. Body Parts
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning | Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 頭 | atama | head | 口 | kuchi | mouth |
| 顔 | kao | face | 歯 | ha | tooth |
| 目 | me | eye | 手 | te | hand |
| 耳 | mimi | ear | 足 | ashi | foot, leg |
| 鼻 | hana | nose | おなか | onaka | stomach, belly |
Several of these are one-beat or two-beat words you can already read fully in kana — and 口 (mouth) and 目 (eye) are kanji from the kanji chapter. Notice 鼻 (hana, nose) sounds exactly like 花 (hana, flower) — homophones like this are why kanji exist! Bonus phrase for later: おなかがすきました (onaka ga sukimashita) — "I'm hungry" (literally "my stomach has emptied").
7. Describing People (a Sneak Preview)
With body parts + adjectives (coming in this section's final chapter), Japanese describes people with a lovely pattern — "[person] は [part] が [adjective]":
- 兄は背が高いです。(Ani wa se ga takai desu.) — "My older brother is tall." (lit. "As for my brother, his back/height is tall.")
- 妹は目が大きいです。(Imōto wa me ga ōkii desu.) — "My little sister has big eyes."
- 父は髪が短いです。(Chichi wa kami ga mijikai desu.) — "My father has short hair."
Don't worry about the grammar yet — just notice the は…が… shape. It will make full sense after the particles chapters.
8. Mini Dialogue: Asking About Family
A: ごかぞくは なんにんですか。(Gokazoku wa nannin desu ka.) — How many people are in your family?
B: よにんです。父と母と姉とわたしです。(Yonin desu. Chichi to haha to ane to watashi desu.) — Four. My father, mother, older sister and me.
A: お姉さんは がくせいですか。(Onēsan wa gakusei desu ka.) — Is your older sister a student?
B: いいえ、かいしゃいんです。(Iie, kaishain desu.) — No, she's an office worker.
See both family-word sets working in one exchange? B says 姉 (ane) about her own sister; A says お姉さん (onēsan) about B's sister. And counting people uses 〜人: なんにん (how many people), よにん (four people) — as you learned in the numbers chapter.
Summary & Key Takeaways
- Two family-word sets: humble for your own (父, 母, 兄…), respectful for others' (お父さん, お母さん, お兄さん…). At home, you call your own parents by the respectful set.
- Watch the long vowels: おばさん aunt vs おばあさん grandmother!
- Older vs younger siblings always distinguished: 兄/弟, 姉/妹.
- 私 (watashi) is the safe "I"; avoid あなた — use name + さん instead, or drop the pronoun.
- Suffixes: さん (default polite), ちゃん (kids/close female friends), くん (boys), さま (customers/letters), せんせい (teachers & doctors). Never use さん on yourself!
- Word-building gifts: country + 人 = nationality, country + 語 = language, workplace + 員 = staff.
- Describing people uses the [は…が + adjective] pattern — full grammar coming soon.