Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 誰 | dare | [da̠ɾe̞] (narrow) [ta̠ɾe̞] (narrow) |
|
| どちらさま | dochirasama | [do̞t͡ɕiɾa̠sa̠ma̠] (narrow) | honorific |
The word 誰 is an interrogative pronoun used to ask about the identity of a person. It can be modified to mean other things, such as だれか for 'someone' or 誰でもいい for 'anyone is fine'.
Which one should you use?
While 誰 is a general way to ask 'who', you can use どの人 to specifically mean 'which person' when selecting from a particular group. どちらさま is used in specific high-politeness contexts, such as identifying a visitor.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The term 誰 can be used in informal settings, such as with 誰？ to ask a simple 'who?' For more polite situations, use どなた. In highly polite or professional contexts, such as when a staff member is asking who is visiting or answering a door, use どちらさま.
How does it change in a sentence?
When 誰 functions as the subject of a sentence, it is almost always followed by the particle が (ga) rather than は (wa). For example, 誰が is used to mean 'who' as a subject.
How do you pronounce it?
dare
Did you know?
- The polite form どちらさま literally asks 'which direction' or 'which side' the person is from rather than asking 'who' they are.
- The sound shift from tare to dare likely happened so that 誰 would match other question words like dore (which one) and doko (where).
Examples in context
- 誰がしたの？Who did it?This sentence uses 誰 to ask who performed an action.Tatoeba #137013 by small_snow, translation #276223 by CK
- トムって誰？Who is Tom?This sentence uses 誰 to ask for the identity of a person.Tatoeba #2733628 by tommy_san, translation #2587424 by Hybrid
- 誰だと思う？Guess who?This sentence uses 誰 to ask someone to guess an identity.Tatoeba #9418948 by small_snow, translation #9280428 by DJ_Saidez
- 誰が来ましたか？Who came?
- 誰がそれを言ったの？Who said that?
- どなたがおっしゃいますか？Who is speaking?
- どなたがこの本を書きましたか？Who wrote this book?
- 773 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
In a living room, a knock is heard at the door.
- 陽葵 Himari誰？Dare?Who is it?
- 蓮 Ren誰か来たみたいだよ。Dareka kita mitai da yo.It looks like someone came.
- 陽葵 Himari誰か知ってる？Dareka shitteru?Do you know who it is?
- 蓮 Renいや、誰だか分からない。Iya, dare da ka wakaranai.No, I don't know who it is.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “who” translations and entries 誰, どちらさま, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 誰, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
