Hisashi buri desu ne

久しぶりですね…　皆さんは元気ですか。休みにすみませんでした。待ってありがとうございます。本当に申し訳ありませんでした。

ひさし　ぶり　ですね…　　みんあさんは　げんき　ですか。　やすみに　すみません　でした。まって　ありがとう　ございます。　ほんとうに　もうしわけ　ありません　でした。

Hisashi buri desu ne...  minna-san wa genki desu ka?  yasumi ni sumimasen deshita.  matte arigatou gozaimasu.  hontou ni moushiwake arimasen deshita.

It's been a long time hasn't it?  Are you all doing well?  Sorry about the break.  Thank you for waiting.  I'm really sorry.



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I believe I said that I'd go over pronouns next.

Because of the varying amount of politeness involved in the Japanese language, there are many different pronouns for different things reflecting how polite you want to be.  Wiki is a good place to get a general idea of where to start.  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese…

Let's start with pronouns for I.

私[わたし/watashi] formal and common word for I. Acceptable for both genders.  [わたくし/watakushi] uses the same kanji, but this pronunciation is used when you want to be extra formal.  Rukia uses watashi.

[あたし/atashi] is a more informal, girly version of watashi.  It's something that Orihime and Riruka use.  (Well, atleast when Riruka isn't refering to herself as リルカ様[Riruka-sama] lol )  Compare to boy's use of boku.  [あたくし/atakushi] also makes this more formal.  

**Urahara uses atashi to refer to himself.  It's kind of strange- might have something to do with his zanpakutou, 紅姫[benihime/Crimson Princess]. *shrug*  He's a strange kinda guy so it works.

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俺[おれ/ore] & 僕[ぼく/boku] - These are something you hear a lot in anime.  Ichigo (and most other main characters it seems like) tends to use 俺[おれ/ore] to refer to himself as well as use a rougher way of speaking.  Contrast with Ishida who tends to use 僕[ぼく/boku] to refer to himself and usually speaks politely.  Can have a sense of being stuck-up... (The new bishie-tastic Tsuki-chan also uses boku. )

There's a definitely a difference in feeling between the two.  俺 seems slightly rougher and more manly almost?  rude-ish or goes with the rude/coarse way of speaking.  僕 seems more boyish and mild.  You don't hear gangster's or tough guys using boku.  

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儂[わし/washi] - Something used by older men.  Jiraiya is a good example I can think of off the top of my head.  

我[われ/ware] - very formal - 我々[wareware] makes this plural and is usually used when someone is talking about a collective or group of people they represent.

**Remember 々 is the symbol indicating repetition of kanji.

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To make these pronouns plural (We/Us instead of I) a suffix is tacked onto the end of the pronoun.  

-たち is one choice.  俺たち[Ore-tachi], 君たち[Kimi-tachi], お前たち[omae-tachi], 私たち[watashi-tachi]...

-ら is another.  This one tends to be more rude.  お前ら[omae-ra] is often used towards a group that you're pissed off at.  teme-ra　　

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You
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(When in doubt, refer to the person by their name.  It's more commonly used in Japan than it is here.  It might seem awkward in English, but works fine in Japanese.)

あなた[Anata] - formal/informal -used when speaking to someone directly; also used by wives towards husbands ("dear" "darling" or "honey" type of feeling)

あんた[Anta] - informal - shows closeness or rudeness depending on context

君[きみ/Kimi] - informal - shows closeness, sometimes affection.  (Enter debate about Vol 49 poem Ichixruki-ness.  I believe I've talked about this previously so I'm going to skim over it.  Can be used towards someone you like, can be used towards someone you're close to.  Just because he uses kimi doesn't mean he's necessarily in love with Rukia.  It still baffles me that one pronoun could cause so much debate.  Silly shippers.  Go look at some of the Bleach asylum forums if you want to see more about it.)  君 is also the same kanji used for the -kun suffix.

お前[おまえ/omae] - very informal - can be slightly rude.  

手前[てめ/teme] - very rude - I don't see the kanji used often at all.  Usually see it in katakana.  テメ  or テメェ or テメー.  This is something to use when you're pissed off.  Often translated along the lines of "You bastard" or "son of a bitch" or other nasty names.  

貴様[きさま/kisama] - very rude - Also used when you're pissed off at someone.  This is something I remember Rukia saying a lot for some reason.  様 is the same kanji used for -sama which I've always found kind of interesting.  Wiki says "Historically very formal, but has developed in an ironic sense to show the speaker's extreme hostility / outrage towards the addressee."  I'd believe it.

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he/she
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For the most part, I don't have anything to add apart from the wiki-page, so look there. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese…

人[ひと/hito] & 奴[やつ/yatsu] by themselves or in conjunction with a, so, or ko.  ko + yatsu -> koitsu; aitsu, soitsu.  yatsu has a more informal feeling to it.

As for 彼[かれ/kare] & 彼女[かのじょ/kanojo] - Usually refers to a specific or previously mentioned person.  Can be used for girlfriend or boyfriend but that isn't always the case.  彼 refers to boys; 彼女 to girls.  (女 means woman)

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That's all for this lesson.  Let me know what you would like covered next.  ^_^