GACKT Official X update. Translation below
AI GACKT got me thinking about the parts of Japanese I struggle with.
Japanese is difficult.
Compared to other languages, there are countless expressions to describe yourself or the other person.
In English, there is only “YOU” and “I”, but in Japanese there are “ore”, “jibun”, “watashi”, “watakushi”, “washi”, “boku”, and “uchi”.
For a slightly more formal word, there is
“temae” and “tokata”.
For words used in professional positions, there are
“honshoku”, “koshoku”, “guso”, “setsuso”, “gutoku”, “toshoku”, “honkan”, and “kokan”.
For old words, there are
“setsusha”, “so”, “wagahai”, “maro”, “kosei”, “me”, and “ashi”.
For dialects, there are
“wai”, “wae”, “wate”, “orira”, “oi”, “waa”, and “ora”.
There are all these.
But even with all these, there is no word that fits me to describe myself.
That’s why I use the word “boku.”
It feels like there needs to be a word between “boku” and “ore,” but there isn’t one.
That’s why I deliberately use “boku.”
The same goes for “omae.”
There’s no word between “kimi” and “omae.” That’s why in the past I used “kimi.”
Now I use “omae.”
Even though we have all these, we still don’t have a word to describe ourselves or others.
What a shame…
It’ll be interesting to know if anyone else has thought this way.
AI GACKTをきっかけに日本語で苦労している部分を改めて考えてみた。
日本語は難しい。相手や自分を表す表現が多言語に比べ無数にある。
英語であれば“YOU“や“I“しかないが、
日本語では“オレ”“自分”“ワタシ”“ワタクシ”“ワシ”“ボク”“ウチ”
少し固い言葉では、
“手前”“当方”… https://t.co/gflhRs64UM— GACKT (@GACKT) February 17, 2025
Translation: GACKT ITALIA Team
Translation © GACKT ITALIA