If you study the Japanese language, you should know that it includes several words or variants for a single thing. Many of these variations are related to culture, hierarchy, courtesy, and formality. Today we will talk about gender language. The way men and women speak in the Japanese language also tends to change and have its variations.
If you study Japanese pronouns, you will notice that there are different ways to say I and you separated by gender. There are also words, constructions, and endings 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 called 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 vice versa). 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 is worth remembering that gender language is used only in casual conversations; it is not usually used in writing or formal conversations.
Women tend to use polite forms of grammar more frequently. Although many anime use gender language, more and more women are speaking only neutral language without these feminine expressions. There are many variations, exceptions, and rules that must be examined before reaching any conclusions.
You do not need to worry too much about language and gender when studying Japanese. Just like keigo and formal language, you should leave this for later in your studies. Normally you are learning the neutral way of conversing and speaking. Mainly because gender language is always changing.
Endings and their genders
There are endings that are more appropriate to be pronounced by a certain gender. If we examine the linguistic evolution of Japan in detail, we will notice that women began to create their own language, while a large part of the masculine language remains in the neutral standard.
Japanese endings tend to emphasize or give some special strength to the word or verb at the end of sentences. Women tend to use the following endings:
- わ – wa
- わよ – wa yo
- わね – wa ne
- のね – no ne
- のよ – no yo
- の – no
- だこと – da ko to
- なの – na no
- のねぇ – no nee
- だわ – da wa
- のよ – no yo
- てよ – te yo
Men, on the other hand, tend to 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
Practically all the examples above used to be used by both sexes. Some are still somewhat neutral and can be used by both; it all depends on the occasion, the voice, the region, and the final word of the sentence. A large part of these endings gained genders after the Meiji era.
Girls tend to ask more questions without using ka (か) or use expressions like の and なの. Boys use か in questions more frequently and also tend to use かい and だい.
Other points of gender language
Let’s see some examples of words, expressions, and questions in neutral, masculine, and feminine. We recommend that you understand at least the basics of Japanese, as we will use only hiragana and some kanji from N5.
| Neutral | Masculine | Feminine |
| 行く | 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？ |
| 私 | 僕/俺 | あたし |
The Japanese pronouns are separated by gender, but ironically, Japanese nouns and words do not usually have genders. There is no word for cat and female cat, just neko. In some rare cases, the Japanese tend to use honorifics that can distinguish a neutral name from a feminine and masculine one.
I hope you enjoyed the article! We appreciate your comments and shares. We recommend delving deeper into this difference between feminine and masculine language in Japanese by reading the other articles below:
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