あなた
Japanese
Alternative spellings |
---|
貴方 彼方 貴女 貴男 |
Etymology
Compound of あ (a, distal pronoun marker, indicating something far away from both speaker and listener; also found in あれ (are, “that”, far away), あそこ (asoko, “there”, far away), etc.) + な (na, possessive, ancient compounding alternative for particle の (no)) + た (ta, “direction, side, place”, only found in ancient terms).[1]
Originally meant that direction, that side, that place (far away), in contrast to そなた (sonata, “that direction, that side, that place (closer to the listener)”), こなた (konata, “this direction, this side, this place (close to both listener and speaker)”), and どなた (donata, “which or what direction, side, or place”). Appears with this sense at least as early as the Kokin Wakashū of the late 900s,[1] and the Kagerō Nikki of 974 CE.[2]
The indirect and polite sense of that person is also evident in texts from the late 900s, including the Ochikubo Monogatari.[1]
The sense of you as a polite and indirect form of reference appears in texts from around the 1750s.[1]
Pronunciation
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Pronoun
- 貴方, 貴女, 貴男: you (second-person pronoun)
- 1908, (deprecated template usage) 夏目漱石(deprecated template usage) 『夢十夜』 [1]
- 「日が出るでしょう。それから日が沈むでしょう。それからまた出るでしょう、そうしてまた沈むでしょう。――赤い日が東から西へ、東から西へと落ちて行くうちに、――あなた、待っていられますか」
- “Hi ga deru deshō. sore kara hi ga shizumu deshō. Sore kara mata deru deshō, sōshite mata shizumu deshō.――Akai hi ga higashi kara nishi e, higashi kara nishi e to ochiteiku uchi ni,――Anata, matteiraremasu ka”
- "The sun will come out, yes? And then the sun will sink, yes? And then it will come out again, and it will sink again, yes? —While the red sun falls, from east to west, from east to west —Would you be able to wait it out?"
- 「日が出るでしょう。それから日が沈むでしょう。それからまた出るでしょう、そうしてまた沈むでしょう。――赤い日が東から西へ、東から西へと落ちて行くうちに、――あなた、待っていられますか」
- 1908, (deprecated template usage) 夏目漱石(deprecated template usage) 『夢十夜』 [1]
- 貴方: (women's speech) dear, darling, sweetheart (term used by a wife to address her husband)
- 貴方, 彼方: (uncommon) that person (far from both speaker and listener)
- 彼方: (uncommon) that direction, that side, that place (far from both speaker and listener)
- 山の彼方
- yama no anata
- that side of the mountain, the far side of the mountain
- 山の彼方
Usage notes
The you sense is spelled most often in hiragana in modern usage. The 貴方 spelling is gender-neutral. Alternative spellings include 貴女 when referring to females and 貴男 when referring to males.
あなた (anata) is the most neutral second-person singular pronoun. If names or titles are known, these are used more commonly when addressing people.
Derived terms
- あんた (anta, term of endearment)
- あなたたち (anatatachi, plural)
See also
- お前 (omae, “you”, singular, very informal)
- お前ら (omaera, “you”, plural, very informal)
- 貴様 (kisama, “you”, singular, derogatory)
- 貴様ら (kisamara, “you”, plural, derogatory)
a-/wa- “I, we” (first person) |
na-/-ma- “you, ye, thou” (second person) |
k- “this” (close to speaker) |
s- “that” (close to listener) |
a-/ka- “that over there” (far from both) |
i-/ta-/nani- “who, what, where, how, when” (interrogative) |
ono- “oneself” (reflexive) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Person | あ (a) あれ (are) わ (wa) われ (ware) まろ (maro) |
な (na) なれ (nare) なんぢ (nanji) まし (mashi) いまし (imashi) みまし (mimashi) きみ (kimi) |
こ (ko) これ (kore) |
そ (so) それ (sore) |
あ (a) あれ (are) か (ka) かれ (kare) |
た (ta) たれ (tare) なにがし (nanigashi) |
おの (ono) おのれ (onore) |
Thing | こ (ko) これ (kore) |
そ (so) それ (sore) |
あ (a) あれ (are) か (ka) かれ (kare) |
いづれ (izure) なに (nani) |
|||
Location | ここ (koko) | そこ (soko) | あしこ (ashiko) かしこ (kashiko) |
いづく (izuku) いづこ (izuko) いどこ (idoko) どこ (doko) |
|||
Direction | こち (kochi) こなた (konata) |
そち (sochi) そなた (sonata) |
あち (achi) あなた (anata) かなた (kanata) |
いづち (izuchi) いづら (izura) いづかた (izukata) |
|||
Manner | か (ka) かく (kaku) かくて (kakute) かう (kō) |
さ (sa) さて (sate) しか (shika) |
いか (ika) | ||||
Time | いつ (itsu) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
- ^ 974, Kagerō Nikki (“The Mayfly Diary”), by Michitsuna's mother (in Japanese), text available online here