Editing Japanese grammar (section)

===Pronouns===
{{Main|Japanese pronouns}}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: 2em; float: right;"
|+ Common pronouns
! person 
!very informal!! plain, informal !! polite
|-
! first
| {{nihongo3|male|俺|ore}}{{pb}}{{nihongo3|female|あたし|atashi}}
| {{nihongo3|male|僕|boku}}{{pb}}{{nihongo3|gender neutral|私|watashi}}
| {{nihongo3||私|watashi}}{{pb}}{{nihongo3||私|watakushi}}
|-
! second
| {{nihongo3||あんた|anta}}{{pb}}{{nihongo3||お前|omae}}
| {{nihongo3||君|kimi}}{{pb}}{{nihongo3||あなた|anata}}
| {{nihongo3||貴方|anata}}{{pb}}{{nihongo3||そちら|sochira}}
|-
! third
| {{nihongo3|pejorative|あいつ|aitsu}}
| {{nihongo3|referring to males|彼|kare}}{{pb}}{{nihongo3|referring to females|彼女|kanojo}}{{pb}}{{nihongo3||あの人|ano hito}}
| {{nihongo3||あの方|ano kata}}
|}

Although many grammars and textbooks mention {{nihongo|[[pronoun]]s|代名詞|daimeishi}}, Japanese lacks true pronouns. ({{transliteration|ja|Daimeishi}} can be considered a subset of nouns.) Strictly speaking, linguistic pronouns do not take modifiers{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}}, but Japanese {{transliteration|ja|daimeishi}} do. For example, {{nihongo3|lit. "tall he"|背の高い彼|se no takai kare}} is valid in Japanese. Also, unlike true pronouns, Japanese {{transliteration|ja|daimeishi}} are not [[closed-class word|closed-class]]; new {{transliteration|ja|daimeishi}} are introduced and old ones go out of use relatively quickly.

A large number of {{transliteration|ja|daimeishi}} referring to people are translated as pronouns in their most common uses. Examples: {{nihongo3|he|彼|kare}}; {{nihongo3|she|彼女|kanojo}}; {{nihongo3|I|私|watashi}}; see also the adjoining table or a longer list.<ref>[http://www.sljfaq.org/afaq/pronoun.html "What are the personal pronouns of Japanese?"] in ''sci.lang.japan Frequently Asked Questions''</ref> Some of these "personal nouns" such as {{nihongo3|I (exceedingly humble)|己|onore}}, or {{nihongo3|I (young male)|僕|boku}}, also have second-person uses: {{nihongo||おのれ|onore}} in second-person is an extremely rude "you", and {{transliteration|ja|boku}} in second-person is a diminutive "you" used for young boys. {{transliteration|ja|Kare}} and {{transliteration|ja|kanojo}} also mean "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" respectively, and this usage of the words is possibly more common than the use as pronouns.

Like other [[subject (grammar)|subject]]s, personal {{transliteration|ja|daimeishi}} are seldom used and are de-emphasized in Japanese. This is partly because Japanese sentences do not always require explicit subjects, and partly because names or titles are often used where pronouns would appear in a translation:

{{fs interlinear|indent=3|lang=ja
|「木下さん は、 背 が 高い です ね。」
|"Kinoshita-san wa, se ga takai desu ne."
|(addressing Mr. Kinoshita) "You're pretty tall, aren't you?"}}

{{fs interlinear|indent=3|lang=ja
|「専務、 明日 福岡市 西区 の 山本商事 の 社長 に 会って いただけます か？」
|"Senmu, asu Fukuoka-shi nishi-ku no Yamamoto-shōji no shachō ni atte itadakemasu ka?"
|(addressing the managing director) "Would it be possible for you to meet the president of Yamamoto Trading Co. in [[Nishi-ku, Fukuoka|West Ward, Fukuoka]] tomorrow?"}}

The possible referents of {{transliteration|ja|daimeishi}} are sometimes constrained depending on the order of occurrence. The following pair of examples from Bart Mathias<ref>Bart Mathias. [http://groups-beta.google.com/group/sci.lang.japan/msg/fed63fa6c3614895?dmode=source Discussion of pronoun reference constraints] on sci.lang.japan.</ref> illustrates one such constraint.

{{fs interlinear|indent=3|lang=ja
|本田君 に 会って、 彼 の 本 を 返した。
|Honda-kun ni atte, kare no hon o kaeshita
|(I) met Honda and returned his book. ("His" here can refer to Honda.)}}

{{fs interlinear|indent=3|lang=ja
|彼 に 会って、 本田君 の 本 を 返した。
|Kare ni atte, Honda-kun no hon o kaeshita
|(I) met him and returned Honda's book. (Here, "him" cannot refer to Honda.)}}