Lesson 17: More of a good thing - Plurals

Unlike English where we put an s at the end of nouns to indicate more than one (in most cases), Japanese does not have singular and plural nouns (in most cases). This would mean that neko could mean cat or cats, depending on the situation. Usually it is understood in the context of the sentence.

However, with pronouns such as I (watashi/boku), you (anata/kimi), he (kare), she (kanojo) we pluralize them by adding -tachi to the end of the noun. 'We' becomes watashi-tachi, you becomes anata-tachi, they becomes kare-tachi or kanojo-tachi.

With kare or kanojo, one could also use the form -ra instead of -tachi to signify the plural (this is more informal). Here are just a few examples for you to look at:

1. Watashi-tachi wa ginko ni ikitai. (We want to go to the bank.)
2. Kanojo-tachi wa Nihon ni imasu. (They are in Japan.)
3. Kare-ra ni wa rippa-na ie ga arimasu. (They have a splendid house.)

But, but but but but but, if you attach the plural -tachi to people's names, it takes on a different meaning:

1. Yamamoto-san-tachi. (Mr./Mrs. Yamamoto and those around them. (often the family)
2. Keiko-chan-tachi. (Keiko and her buddies.)

And if you grab another kind of tachi with two hands and swing it around the room you can do some very serious damage because a tachi is the two-handed long sword of Japanese samurai days. Interesting, yes?

In the next lesson, let's practice.

More to come...

- Sensei

Next Lesson 18: Time for some Renshuu - Practice Makes Perfect.