Female Speech vs. Male Speech in Japanese

Striving for gender neutrality is becoming more and more in vogue.
“Gender-inclusive language” is also a topic in Japanese. Spoken Japanese has both a so-called woman's language (on-na kotoba)  and a man's language (otoko kotoba). With a gender-typical syllable at the end, the language can be coloured female or male as the case may be.

Let me tell you an anecdote about this:  A long time ago, a private customer wanted me to translate a single sentence "I do not know" into Japanese.

In what context should this phrase be used? Maybe for an ad? My immediate thought was to translate the sentence gently, i.e. feminine.

Although the customer was initially reluctant to provide information, he eventually answered my question: he wanted the translation tattooed on his arm!

Now, a FEMALE version on his body would truly have been a permanent mistake!

If you're learning Japanese through self-study, such as through comics, be aware of these subtle differences. Would you like to have your Japanese professionally checked for gender neutrality? Then contact us. We offer qualified lessons by a Japanese native speaker.

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