彼らは
karera wa
In Japanese, "they are" is expressed as 彼らは (karera wa).
彼らは is a pronoun used to refer to a group of people as the subject of a sentence. It is commonly used to refer to a group of males or a mixed-gender group.
Which one should you use?
While 彼らは is the standard for a mixed-gender group or a group of males, you can use 彼女たちは to say "they are" if the group consists only of females. For a group specifically of females, 彼女らは is also used. When referring to a respectful pair, such as a couple, you can use お二人は. If you are pointing at a specific pair in an informal way, you can use あの二人は.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
彼らは is a standard, neutral and formal way to refer to a group of males or a mixed-gender group. In contrast, あの二人は is an informal way to mention "they" while pointing at a specific pair.
How do you pronounce it?
karera wa
Did you know?
- While 彼ら is now the standard word for 'they', the word 彼 meaning 'he' was not used as a pronoun in ancient Japanese. It was adopted much later to translate Western concepts of gendered pronouns during the Meiji era.
- The pronoun 彼女 (kanojo), used to form 'they (female)', is also the word for 'girlfriend' in Japanese. This dual meaning can occasionally cause confusion in certain spoken contexts.
- When talking about a group that includes animals or objects, 彼らは cannot be used. Japanese uses different pluralization strategies or specific words for non-human 'they'.
Examples in context
- 彼らは病気だ。They are sick.This sentence is useful for describing the health status of a group using 彼らは.Tatoeba #8671296 by small_snow, translation #8352495 by masgun13
- 彼らは教師だ。They are teachers.This sentence is useful for describing the profession of a group using 彼らは.Tatoeba #10300924 by bunbuku, translation #307003 by adjusting
- 彼らは同い年だ。They are the same age.This sentence is useful for describing the age of a group using 彼らは.Tatoeba #96463 by small_snow, translation #307243 by CK
- 彼らは学生です。They are students.
- 彼らは友達だ。They are friends.
- あの二人は日本語が上手だね。They are good at Japanese, aren't they?
- 75 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Misaki and Kenta are looking at a photo of their friends.
- 美咲 Misaki彼らはどこにいるの？Karera wa doko ni iru no?Where are they?
- 健太 Kenta彼らは今、旅行しているよ。Karera wa ima, ryokou shite iru yo.They are traveling right now.
- 美咲 Misakiいいな。楽しそうだね。Ii na. Tanoshisou da ne.That's nice. They look like they're having fun.
- 健太 Kentaうん、きっとそうだよ。Un, kitto sou da yo.Yeah, I'm sure they are.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
