|
Just a question..
Link |
by shinysword
on 2006-03-01 19:10:51
|
| Hi, may i know how "who are you?" in english is written in japanese? (romanji) |
|
Re: Just a question..
Link |
by
on 2006-03-01 19:38:24 |
|
polite: anata wa dare desu ka? informal: dare da? 
|
|
Re: Just a question..
|
|
It can also be: Dochira sama desu ka? or Anata/Kimi/Anta wa dare? |
|
Re: Just a question..
|
|
Dotirasama desu ka? is usually used on the phone, I'm not really sure about in real life. Also, you would never (well just about almost never...) say "anata wa dare desu ka?" That sounds really weird and I think only a foreigner would say it and it would sound really weird. If you would ask politely, "Sumimasen ga, donata desu ka?" If not you can just say "dare" I guess. It sounds a little strange to ask "who are you" though, so if you're wanting their name, say "Onamae wa?" |
|
Re: Just a question..
|
|
@metapod: Hmmm...I guess you're right. And yeah, first of all, it's a bit strange to ask "who are you" to someone you don't know. It would be impolite to say that... |
|
Re: Just a question..
|
|
Right, I think most of the time when we ask "who are you" in English, we ask it in a way that the Japanese would actually say something else. Like if we were working as a secretary in a business, and someone came and suddenly asked where an employee is, and we wanted them to explain who they were (so we could know why they were asking for them and things), we might say "Sorry, but who are you...?" though I still think that even in English it sounds a bit rude. But in Japan they might just say something like... telling you where the person was, but adding "ga..." or "kedo..." to the end to try to prompt you to say your purpose. Something like that. I don't really think "who are you?" is used very much at all. And to the OP: it is "romaji," not "romanji", just so you know :) It does seem like it would be romanji since it's romanization, but the word is actually romaji. |