たち / ども / がた / ら Japanese Grammar Lesson
Grammar Type: Suffix
Essential Meaning: Pluralizer
Construction:
- Personal Pronoun + たち
- E.g. 私たち [We]
- E.g. あなたたち [You all]
- Human Name + たち
- E.g. 山田さんたち [Yamada-san and company]
- Human Group Noun + たち
- E.g. 子供たち [Children]
- E.g. 男たち [Men]
Notes:
- Unlike in English, there is no straightforward plural noun form in Japanese. Instead, pluralization is generally conveyed with counters (e.g. りんごを二つ食べました。[I ate two apples.]) or with degree adverbs (e.g. りんごをたくさん食べました。[I ate many apples.]). But with human beings, the suffix たち can be used to indicate a pluralized group.
- Specifically, たち (達 in kanji) can be used with personal names, nouns that refer to human beings, and personal pronouns (with the exception of かれ, which can NOT take the suffix たち).
- E.g. 私たち [Us]
- E.g. あなたたち [You all]
- E.g. 彼女たち [Women]
- E.g. ヤマダさんたち [Yamada-san and company]
- E.g. 子供達 [Children]
- E.g. 男たち [Men]
- There are three other pluralizing suffixed (i.e. ら, どの, and がた) that can be used in different circumstances:
- どの is formal plural suffix that is typically attached to first person pronouns to yield a formal “We“. ども can also attach to a limited set of human nouns such as 男 [Man] and 女 [Woman]. In fact, こども [Child] originated in this way, but こども now takes the suffix たち (i.e. こどもたち [Children]).
- E.g. 私どもは何も存じません。[We don’t know anything.]
- E.g. 男ども [Men]
- E.g. 女ども [Women]
- がた (方 in kanji) is an honorific plural marker that attaches to second person pronouns as well as a limited number of human nouns.
- E.g. お母さん方 [Mothers]
- E.g. お父さん方 [Fathers]
- E.g. 先生方 [Teachers]
- E.g. あなた方はいついらっしゃいますか。[When will you all be here?]
- E.g. 先生方はいらっしゃらないそうです。[I was told that the teachers aren’t here.]
- E.g. 方々 [The honorific form of 人]
- ら is the least formal of the plural markers and is typically attached to personal pronouns and names. ら is not used with わたくし or あなた since these pronouns are formal. It would be incongruous to use an informal suffix with a formal pronoun.
- E.g. 僕ら [We]
- E.g. 私ら [We]
- E.g. わしら [We]
- E.g. 君ら [You all]
- E.g. お前ら [You all]
- E.g. あんたら [You all]
- E.g. 彼ら [They (males)]
- E.g. 彼女ら [They (females)]
- E.g. それら [Those]
- E.g. 田中ら [Tanaka and company]
- どの is formal plural suffix that is typically attached to first person pronouns to yield a formal “We“. ども can also attach to a limited set of human nouns such as 男 [Man] and 女 [Woman]. In fact, こども [Child] originated in this way, but こども now takes the suffix たち (i.e. こどもたち [Children]).
Example Sentences:
私たちは日本に住んでいます。[We live in Japan.]
山田さんたちはすしを食べた。[Tanaka-san and company ate sushi.]
こともたちはアンパンマンが好きです。[Children like Anpanman.]
WILD Examples:
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