Pronoun.
The Pronouns are divided into Personal, Demonstrative, Interrogative, Reflexive, Indefinite, and Distributive. They undergo no modifications for case, gender, or number.
Personal Pronouns.—Words used to express these are numerous, and are composed of words which, for the most part, humble the speaker and honor the person spoken to. Their use also depends upon the rank of the speaker, and whether he is addressing a superior, inferior, or equal; they are, however, seldom used except when they are emphatic, or the subject of the sentence.
| 1st Person.— | The Emperor uses Chin, a noble, yo. Watakushi is the word most commonly used by all classes in speaking to a superior or equal. Sessha, gesetsu, kono-hō, are used by the upper classes in speaking to equals; and ware or warera, ore, mi, in adressing an inferior. |
| 2nd Person.— | In addressing the Emperor, Shujō, "your majesty;" to a noble, gozen. By all classes, in speaking to a superior, anata and sonata, and the prefixes go, and on, are the common words. To equals, sono-moto, sokka, kimi, kikō, omae; and in letters, kikun, kisho, kiden, gohen. To inferiors, sono-hō, nanji, omae, kisama, sochi, temae. |
| 3rd Person.— | Ano okata, ano-hito, are, kare. |
A plural is formed by affixing to these the words domo, ra, gata, tachi; as:
- We, watakushi-domo, ware-ware, temaedomo.
- You, anata-gata, sonata-domo, omae-tachi, nanjira, temae-domo.
- They, Ano-hito-tachi, karera, arera.
Demonstrative pronouns are: ko, this; so, that; or their formatives, kore, sore, are, of which the adjective forms are kono, sono, ano, kano.
Interrogative pronouns are: nani, what; dō, what, how; tare, or dare, who; izure, which; dochira, which; of which the adjective forms, are: nani-no or nanno, dono, tare-no, izure-no, dochira-no.
Reflexive pronouns are: jibun, jishin, mibun, onore, waga, mizukara, jiko.
Indefinite pronouns are: nanigashi, soregashi, saru, aru, aruiwa; also formed by demo, as: nani-demo, dare-demo, dō-demo, izure-demo, dochira-demo.
Distributive pronouns are: ono-ono, mei-mei, men-men, izure-mo, dochira mo, mina-mina.
There are no Relative pronouns in the Japanese, the person or thing being always put in direct subjection to the verb, which acts as an attributive adjective, as:
- Hon wo yomu hito, the man who reads books.
- Hon wo yonda hito, the man who has read books.
- Hito no yomu hon, the book which men read.
- Hito ni yomareru hon, a book which is read (or can be read) by men.
- Hito ni yomareta hon, a book which has been read by men.
