If you study the Japanese language, you should know that it includes various words or variants for a single thing. Many of these variations are related to culture, hierarchy, politeness, and formality. Today we will talk about gendered language. The way men and women speak in the Japanese language also often changes and has its variations.
If you study Japanese pronouns, you will notice that there are different ways to say eu and você separated by gender. There are also words, constructions, and endings that are considered more masculine or more feminine. It is very noticeable that women speak quite differently from men in Japan.
Feminine words are called onna kotoba (女言葉) while the habits of feminine conversation are referred to as joseigo (女性語). Masculine words are called otoko kotoba (男言葉) and their conversation and language is danseigo (男性語). There is also the expression (女/男)らしい to refer to gender behavior.
Table of Contents
The difference between men and women
The Japanese words and endings that tend to be popular among each gender are not so important that you should feel embarrassed about speaking like a girl (or the opposite). There are things beyond words that separate feminine language from masculine. Sometimes these words and endings end up helping with that.
Women tend to speak more softly and submissively. For this reason, they will choose softer and gentler words while men will choose stronger, more aggressive, and direct words. It's worth noting that gendered language is only used in casual conversations and is not typically used in writing or formal discussions.
Women tend to use more polite forms of grammar more frequently. Although many animes use gendered language, more and more women speak only neutral language without these feminine expressions. There are many variations, exceptions, and rules that must be examined before reaching any conclusions.
You don't need to worry too much about language and gender when studying Japanese. Just like keigo and formal language, you should leave that for last in your studies. Usually, you are learning the neutral way to converse and speak. Especially because gendered language is always changing.
Terminations and their genders
There are endings that are more appropriate to be pronounced by a certain gender. If we examine in detail the linguistic evolution of Japan, we will realize that women began to create their own language, while much of the masculine language remains in the neutral standard.
Japanese endings usually give emphasis or some special force to the word or verb at the end of sentences. Women often use the following endings:
- わ - wa
- わよ - wa yo
- わね - wa ne
- のね - no ne
- のよ - no yo
- of
- there is - da ko to
- na no
- のねぇ - no nee
- だわ - da wa
- のよ - no yo
- てよ - te yo
Men usually use the following endings:
- や - ya
- ぜぇ - zee
- ぜ - ze
- だぞ - da zo
- だな - da na
- だ - da
- だね - da ne
- な - na
- さ - sa
- ぞ - zo
- かい - kai
Virtually all of the above examples used to be used by both sexes. Some are still kind of neutral and can be used by both, it all depends on the occasion, the voice, the region and the final word of the sentence. Most of these endings gained genres after the Meiji era.
Girls tend to ask more questions without using ka (か) or using expressions like の and なの. Boys, on the other hand, use か in questions more often and often also use かい and だい.
Other aspects of gender language
Let's see some examples of words, expressions and questions in the neuter, masculine and feminine. We recommend that you understand at least the basics of Japanese, because we will only use hiragana and some N5 kanji.
| Neutral | Male | Feminine |
| Go | 行くよ | 行くわよ |
| 日本人 | 日本人だ | 日本人だわ |
| 高いのか? | 高いのかい？ | 高いの？ |
| 何? | 何だい？ | 何なの？ |
| I | 僕/俺 | I am |
Japanese pronouns are separated by gender, but ironically Japanese nouns and words do not usually have genders. There is, for example, the word cat and gata, only neko. In some rare cases, the Japanese often use honorifics that can distinguish a neuter, feminine and masculine name.
I hope you enjoyed the article! We appreciate the comments and shares. We recommend diving deeper into this difference between feminine and masculine language in Japanese by reading the other articles below:
