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If you were a fictional character, what pronoun would you use?

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Zhen Lin

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It is (or should be) well known that characters in fiction often use a narrow set of pronouns in order to succintly convey their personality.

The category of pronouns in Japanese is not a closed one. Or, perhaps, another interpretation: there are no real pronouns in Japanese. As a result, there are more pronouns in Japanese than there are letters in the English alphabet.

人称一覧 List of Japanese pronouns (Ketsuban may wish to take note that the Japanese Wikipedia lists ぼく as 男性・少女)

So... what pronoun usage would most accurately reflect your personality? I guess if I were a fictional character I would use watakushi and ware, and avoid second/third person pronouns like a plague - in practice I use watashi.

I would also like to take the opportunity to mention 吾輩は猫である wagahai-wa neko-de aru, a cat's autobiography by Natsume Sōseki. The translation "I am a cat" simply does not do justice to the original title. It is near-impossible to preserve the humour in the original - the best you could do in near-natural English is "we are a cat" - such pompous language is not befitting of a common housecat... or is it?
 
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I'm boring. Let's go with atashi and anata.
 
I'd use boku and anata, I think. Even though otaku would be fun for second person, it might sound corny because it rhymes with boku.

Okay, I love "boku." Leave me alone. XD;
 
I'd like to use the pronoun boku but I'm really not as tomboyish as I wish I were. I'm just a nerd, so I'd probably just use watashi. I don't really know anything about pronouns (just what I read from that list and another website I found a while ago), but don't most people use anata?

Could someone maybe give a further explanaition on the connotations of some of those pronouns (I read somewhere that atashi is supposed to be cute/ flirty, etc).
 
Watashi and anata are like blanket pronouns, because you're pretty much saf using them in any situation as far as politeness goes. (In other words, you wouldn't have to worry that you're being to impolite.) However, if someone's "hanging out with da gang" or something, they're more likely to use omae and ore and stuff.

You're right about atashi.

Is that what you wanted to know?
 
Yeah, sorta. Do the other watashi contractions on that list that Zhen Lin provided have other connotations?
 
anata is not safe to use under all circumstances. You could easily offend parents, teachers, employers and other superiors with any generic 2nd person pronoun. Use titles, such as sensei, okā-san (this may sound too distant - modify it as needed to show affection) or names with appropriate honorifics, such as Tanaka-san.
 
Oh, right. So basically, you use the person's name as the second person pronoun. I know that doesn't seem to make sense, but it does. XD

(Sorry I was mistaken on that.)
 
I'd use "atashi" when with my familiars and "watashi" if I'm out to be polite. For others, I'd use "anata" for politeness and either "kimi" or "omae" with my familiars depending on the gender.
 
I'd use boku (少女? As in "little girls"? XD), as that's what I use and I'm not a fictional character. Actually sometimes when I'm in random OMG-shoujo-manga-squee mode I just barely have to stop myself from using atashi (while speaking English o_O).

No second-person pronouns for me.

Actually, if I were a fictional character I would use chin. Because I would be the Emperor. Of the world.
 
Oh my God, Ketsuban, you crack me up. I almost fell off my chair laughing at that. I love you. XD

Actually, I love all of you right now. I had no idea there were other people so fascinated with Japanese pronouns.

After much careful consideration, I decided that I would use watashi, in hiragana. Atashi seems at once too girly, too informal, and too tomboyish for me, and watashi in kanji just seems too formal and too grown-up. I know it doesn't really make a difference if you're talking, but I have a tendency to write stories in my head and I always end up seeing them in manga form, sometimes in Japanese. ^_^;
 
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I'd use ore-sama 'cause I'm just that way =P Really, I'm pretty damn arrogant at times so using one that is considered arrogant to use fits.
 
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I like the way atashi sounds, it's a nice word, but I'm not lil miss cute&flirty, so I would probably go with watashi all around. Same if I wasn't a fictional character. (Sessha sounds like me, being somewhat self-depricating, but I'm not a samurai.)

I'm not sure about second person. I tend to use kimi anyway (though that may be because I'm not used to speaking or writing in Japanese, let alone talking directly to other people. [When I use it, I am talking to myself or my big brother, who doesn't know what I'm saying.] Need more knowledge and practice...). I would probably go with using the person's name, anata, or, if the person has really gotten me to dislike them, perhaps omae. I prefer to be polite.
 
First person I'd use boku, just beacuse I'm more used to it. As for second person... I guess kimi... or maybe anata. Not quite sure on that there.
 
For first person, I'd use 'atashi', just...because. >D And 'kimi' for second person.

It'd also be rather in-character for me to go around referring to myself as 'chin', just because I'd enjoy people's reactions. ;D
 
Completely depends on the situation. Ore in most cases, however.
 
So what are the connotations/ impressions/ whatever you want to call them for the first-person pronouns listed on that website?
 
Oh, I forgot about second-person.

I'd probably use the person's name or title in most cases, but I'd use "anata" with my husband, maybe with my boyfriend, and "kimi" with animals ('cause I can!).
 
I'm boring... I'd probably use "atashi", because cute and flirty is totally not me and it's fun to pretend it is, and.... I'll think about the other one later XD
 
For me, if I were a fictional character, for first person I'd use either "watashi" or "boku", possibly both, and for second person I'd use "anta" (I cannot believe anyone hasn't chosen this one yet, I hear/read it all the time in anime/manga!) Speaking of which, is "anta" gender-specific? Because I've seen both males and females use it. And where is it on the polite-ness level in relation to the other 2nd-person pronouns?
 
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