Kimberly Tsan
The use of "omae" in Japanese language... So apparently, all those years spent watching Dragon Ball Z and Naruto have prepared my brain for...battle talk, haha. Is "omae" the "guy" version of "you" in Japanese? I was told that "omae" is pretty harsh to use, but I've heard female characters (in anime) use "omae" in a context that is non-violent...I have no real-life experiences here, so please give me some insight! After having one Skype session with a Japanese person I realized that I've been watching too much anime haha...but maybe that's because I mostly watch shounen/battle animes.
Jul 23, 2014 7:22 PM
Answers · 4
2
First, the golden rule for second-person pronouns in Japanese: avoid using them. It's not a matter of choice between anata, kimi and omae. Instead, simply don’t use any of these and say things like “どこにお住まいですか (where do you live?)” and this is the most natural sounding way of saying things in 95-99% of the time. If you think this might confuse the listener, you can always start your sentence with his or her name or title (“田中さん、昼ご飯は食べましたか?”) Having said that, you are on the right track. Omae is mostly guy talk (variably translated as “dude” (friendly), “you bastard” (battle talk) and most of the time,…. simply “you”) but some girls might occasionally use it in very informal situations for dramatic effect, especially in mock exasperation or confrontation (that is, as jokes). For example, a girl is narrating a story to a close friend and she says “….and I felt like he was trying my patience and I was like ‘Look who’s talking?’…” (なんか私もう我慢の限界で、「おまえがよく言うよ」って思ったんだけど、・・・。) In this case, she might choose to invoke omae to show how annoyed she was. But it's a bit like cursing so you should be careful with it.
July 25, 2014
1
”お前(omae)” is usually used by male, but sometimes it's used by female too, like you watched it in anime. お前 is an informal way of saying "you" but it doesn't always mean the speaker is violent. お前 is also used when people get very very close relationship/friendship. But it's safer not to use the word "お前", because it's not a polite word and people can take it offensive.
July 26, 2014
I see! Thank you for all the explanations. :)
July 27, 2014
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