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In
issue 29 we looked at the words family members use to address
and refer to each other. Traditionally, children addressed and
referred to their parents with お母さん
and お父さん,
but nowadays they
frequently use ママ and
パパ. Older boys and
men use おふくろ and
おやじ for mother and
father, and the most common way to address family and friends
is just to say 「ねえ......」！
In
the same way, Japanese has several counterparts for the English
‘I’ and ‘you’. In a formal situation, both men and women use
わたし (or the extremely
formal わたくし)
But with family and friends, men and women use different words.
Women still use わたし or
あたし, but boys and
men use ぼく,
and the even less formal おれ.
Japanese counterparts for ‘you’ are very restricted in use.
あなた and
あんた were traditionally
used by women to address family members, particularly husbands,
but these days wives use their husband’s name, eg. あきのりさん
or the shortened
あきさん. Boys and men
use the name without さん,
and おまえ with
close friends and family (used in any other situation this can
be very rude). A very common usage by women and girls is to
shorten names and use ちゃん,
which expresses familiarity and affection.
eg.
ちかこさん→ちかちゃん. |
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Whether
student or teacher, when meeting Japanese you will be called
upon to make a 自己紹介.
Don’t be at a loss for words! Here are some basic expressions.
Students can impress with a simple version, and teachers can
use the opportunity to try some honorific language. Use the
chart to change from simple to honorific expressions. |
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普通の言い方
simple
expression |
敬 語
honorific
expression |
| 〜といいます |
〜と申します |
| 〜から来ました |
〜から参りました |
| 〜します |
〜いたします |
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Note
that you need not say わたしは,
and you NEVER use さん after
your own name, or refer to yourself as 先生! |
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 You
have probably seen the word わたし
written in kanji. 「私」 is
made up of two components, each with a different function:
one component that hints at the meaning, and one that gives
the pronunciation of the kanji. The second, phonetic component
imparts its meaning to the kanji as well. These kinds of kanji,
called 形成文字,
make up the majority of kanji.
The component on the left of 私comes from the picture of a
rice plant and means ‘crop’, which in ancient times would
have been shared among individuals who harvested it. The component
on the right gives the pronunciation (which had the meaning
‘private’ in ancient Chinese), as well as the meaning of ‘hold
in your arms’ from the picture of a bent arm. So this kanji,
meaning ‘private’, came to Japan where it is now used in various
compound words eg.私立学校
(private school),
as well as 私
(I , me). What an amazing story kanji have to tell! |
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In Japan as elsewhere, names given to babies change with the
times. Below are the most popular babies’ names for 2003,
according to kanji. These days parents tend to choose the
sound of the name first, and fit the kanji to the name. To
express individuality, the kanji chosen may be an unusual
written form for the particular sound. As you can see from
the list, major themes for boys’ names are ‘large scale’,
and ‘flying, soaring’. Over the years girls’ names ending
in 子
have lost favour. A major theme in the girls’ names is flowers
and plants. One theory is that the choice of girls’ names
was influenced by the SMAP song popular in 2003, 「世界に一つだけの花」.
We also give the kanji that appear in the names, with their
‘normal’ readings.
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男
の 子 |
女
の 子 |
| 表記
writing |
読み方
pronunciation |
表記
writing |
読み方
pronunciation |
| 1位 |
大輝 |
ダイキ、タイキ、トモキ、ヒロキ |
陽菜 |
ヒナ、ハルナ、ハナ |
| 2位 |
翔 |
ショウ、カケル |
七海 |
ナナミ |
| 3位 |
大翔 |
ヒロト、ダイト、ハルト、マサト |
さくら |
サクラ |
| 翔太 |
ショウタ |
| 4位 |
|
凛 |
リン |
| 5位 |
匠 |
ショウ、タクミ |
美咲 |
ミサキ |
| 葵 |
アオイ |
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| 輝 |
（キ/かがやく） |
bright,
shine |
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| 翔 |
（ショウ/かける） |
to
soar, fly |
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| 太 |
（タイ、タ/ふとい） |
big,
fat, noble |
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| 匠 |
（ショウ、たくみ） |
artisan |
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| 陽 |
（ヨウ） |
sunny,
positive (yin) |
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| 菜 |
（サイ、な） |
greens |
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| 海 |
（カイ、うみ） |
sea |
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| 凛 |
（リン） |
dignified,
cold |
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| 美 |
（ビ、うつくしい） |
beautiful |
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| 咲 |
（ショウ、さく） |
to
bloom |
出典：明治安田生命「生まれ年別の名前調査」 |
| 葵 |
（キ、あおい） |
hollyhock |
Source:
Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Companyz |
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This
section written by Cathy
Jonak |
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& Copyright © The Japan Foundation, Sydney |
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