あなた
Japanese
Alternative spellings |
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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
- (Irregular reading)
- (Tokyo) あなた [ànáꜜtà] (Nakadaka – [2])[3][4]
- (Tokyo) あなた [áꜜnàtà] (Atamadaka – [1])[3][4]
- IPA(key): [a̠na̠ta̠]
- The you and that person senses only ever have pitch accent [2] (nakadaka). The that direction or side sense may have either pitch accent, with pitch accent [1] (atamadaka) more common.
Pronoun
あなた • (anata)
- 貴方, 貴女, 貴男: you (second-person pronoun)
- 1908, 夏目漱石 [Natsume Sōseki], 夢十夜 (Yume jūya) [Ten Nights of Dreaming]:
- 「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 rise, yes? And then the sun will set, yes? And then it will rise again, and it will set 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」
- 貴女: (to a female) you
- 貴男: (to a male) you
-
- 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
- 1943, 土井晩翠譯『オヂュッセーア』第二歌
- オヂュシュウス遠きあなたに亡びたり、汝も彼ともろともに死せば善かりし!
- Ojushūsu tōki anata ni horobitari, nanji mo kare to morotomo ni shiseba yokarishi!
- Odysseus has perished in a far off land—if only you had died with him!
- オヂュシュウス遠きあなたに亡びたり、汝も彼ともろともに死せば善かりし!
- 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)
Descendants
- →⇒ Aleut: anatax̂ (“Japanese person”)
- → Min Nan: 阿娜達 (a-na-ta, “dear”)
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
- 1988, 国語大辞典(新装版) (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
- 974, Kagerō Nikki (“The Mayfly Diary”), by Michitsuna's mother (in Japanese), text available online here
- 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN