Japanese Grammar In Its Natural Habitat
Wild Nihongo!
たち / ども / がた / ら

たち / ども / がた / ら

たち / ども / がた / ら Japanese Grammar Lesson

Grammar Type: Suffix

Essential Meaning: Pluralizer

Construction:

  • Personal Pronoun + たち
    • E.g. 私わたしたち [We]
    • E.g. あなたたち [You all]
  • Human Name + たち
    • E.g. 山田やまださんたち [Yamada-san and company]
  • Human Group Noun + たち
    • E.g. 子供こどもたち [Children]
    • E.g. 男おとこたち [Men]

Notes:

  • Unlike in English, there is no straightforward plural noun form in Japanese. Instead, pluralization is generally conveyed with counters (e.g. りんごを二ふたつ食たべました。[I ate two apples.]) or with degree adverbs (e.g. りんごをたくさん食たべました。[I ate many apples.]). But with human beings, the suffix たち can be used to indicate a pluralized group.
  • Specifically, たち (達たち 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. 私わたしたち [Us]
    • E.g. あなたたち [You all]
    • E.g. 彼女かのじょたち [Women]
    • E.g. ヤマダさんたち [Yamada-san and company]
    • E.g. 子供達こどもたち [Children]
    • E.g. 男おとこたち [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 男おとこ [Man] and 女おんな [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. 私わたしどもは何なにも存ぞじません。[We don’t know anything.]
      • E.g. 男おとこども [Men]
      • E.g. 女おんなども [Women]
    • がた (方がた in kanji) is an honorific plural marker that attaches to second person pronouns as well as a limited number of human nouns.
      • E.g. お母かあさん方がた [Mothers]
      • E.g. お父とうさん方がた [Fathers]
      • E.g. 先生せんせい方がた [Teachers]
      • E.g. あなた方がたはいついらっしゃいますか。[When will you all be here?]
      • E.g. 先生方せんせいがたはいらっしゃらないそうです。[I was told that the teachers aren’t here.]
      • E.g. 方々かたがた [The honorific form of 人ひと]
    • 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. 僕ぼくら [We]
      • E.g. 私わたしら [We]
      • E.g. わしら [We]
      • E.g. 君きみら [You all]
      • E.g. お前まえら [You all]
      • E.g. あんたら [You all]
      • E.g. 彼かれら [They (males)]
      • E.g. 彼女かのじょら [They (females)]
      • E.g. それら [Those]
      • E.g. 田中たなから [Tanaka and company]

Example Sentences:

私わたしたちは日本にほんに住すんでいます。[We live in Japan.]

山田やまださんたちはすしを食たべた。[Tanaka-san and company ate sushi.]

こともたちはアンパンマンが好すきです。[Children like Anpanman.]

WILD Examples:

At :54, listen for the line: こいつたちがいる [These guys are here with me]
Listen to this line from 0:23: 俺おれたちの知識ちしき、Hakuna Matata [This is our special knowledge, Hakuna Matata]
Listen for this line at 0:16: バカ者ものども、よく聞きけ [Listen well, you pack of fools]…Also listen for this line at 0:53: 俺おれは欲張よくばり、でもお前まえらに褒美ほうびはとらせるぜ [I’m greedy, but I will ensure that you all are rewarded]
Listen to this line at 1:08: ほら、男おとこ共ども、君きみが見みえる位置いちにいる [Look, the men are in a position where they can see you]

***YouTube videos may be region-locked depending on your country of origin. If you experience issues, please try using a VPN set to a United States IP address.***