Language in use

Japanese in anime and manga

How characters talk in anime and manga — and which of it you can say in real life, and which you should not.

Why this field

Anime and manga are among the most common reasons people start learning Japanese. They are a real help: you hear natural rhythm, everyday vocabulary and the forms of address that Japanese life runs on.

But fiction exaggerates. Characters are given speech styles that mark them at once — the tough boy, the old master, the villain — and some of those styles would sound rude, childish or simply odd from a learner. This page shows typical patterns, written for this site, and says where each one belongs.

Sentences to say aloud

The label says where a sentence belongs. The speaker next to it reads it aloud.

1. 俺(おれ)が行(い)くぜ。I’m going.

   typical of fiction 俺(おれ) is a rough masculine "I", and ぜ a swaggering ending. Together they mark a tough character.

   In everyday life, rather: 私(わたし)が行(い)きます。

2. 先輩(せんぱい)、待(ま)ってください！Wait, please! (to an older student or colleague)

   polite 先輩(せんぱい) is used in real life too, at school, in clubs and at work, for someone who started before you.

3. 田中(たなか)さん、おはようございます。Good morning, Mr Tanaka.

   polite 〜さん works for almost anyone and is never wrong.

4. みかちゃん、一緒(いっしょ)に帰(かえ)ろう。Mika, let’s go home together.

   close friends only 〜ちゃん is for children and close friends. With a colleague it would be far too familiar.

5. 大丈夫(だいじょうぶ)か？You all right?

   casual Plain か at the end of a spoken question sounds blunt and masculine.

   In everyday life, rather: 大丈夫(だいじょうぶ)ですか。

6. だから言(い)ったでしょ！I told you so!

   casual

7. もう、知(し)らないってば！Oh, I said I don’t care any more!

   typical of fiction ってば insists, a little petulantly — a favourite of younger characters. Among friends it is fine; anywhere else it sounds childish.

8. 絶対(ぜったい)に諦(あきら)めない！I’ll never give up!

   neutral A declaration every sports and adventure story has. It is perfectly normal Japanese.

9. 頼(たの)んだぞ。I’m counting on you.

   casual ぞ is a forceful, masculine ending. Said to a superior it would be rude.

10. 貴様(きさま)、何者(なにもの)だ！You there — who are you?!

    typical of fiction 貴様(きさま) is a strong insult today, heard almost only from villains and samurai. Never use it.

    In everyday life, rather: どちら様(さま)ですか。

11. いただきます！Let’s eat! (said before a meal)

    neutral A real custom that anime shows as it is: said before eating, even alone.

12. 何(なに)それ、かわいい！What’s that? It’s so cute!

    casual

What matters here

• Rough first-person pronouns and endings — 俺(おれ), ぜ, ぞ — mark a character as tough or masculine. In real life, start with 私(わたし) and the polite です・ます form.
• Forms of address are real and useful: 〜さん for almost everyone, 〜ちゃん for children and close friends, 先輩(せんぱい) for someone ahead of you at school or work.
• Some words exist almost only in fiction: 貴様(きさま) was once respectful and is now a strong insult. Recognising them is useful; using them is not.

Try it yourself

Read the meaning, say the sentence aloud in Japanese, then open it to compare.

1. Wait, please! (to an older student or colleague)

   先輩(せんぱい)、待(ま)ってください！

2. Mika, let’s go home together.

   みかちゃん、一緒(いっしょ)に帰(かえ)ろう。

3. I told you so!

   だから言(い)ったでしょ！

4. I’m counting on you.

   頼(たの)んだぞ。

More fields

Every sentence on this page was written for EveryLingua. There are no quotations from films, series, books or songs here, and no titles or names of artists — the page shows how people talk in this field, not what somebody once said.