あなたは養子です
anata wa yōshi desu
To say "you're adopted" in Japanese, you use あなたは養子です (anata wa yōshi desu).
This phrase is used to state that someone was legally taken into another person's family as their own child. The core word 養子 refers to an adopted child, whereas 里子 refers to a foster child.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The phrase あなたは養子です is a formal way to say "You are adopted." For a more casual tone, you can use あんた、実は養子だよ or the explanatory version 養子なんだ, which adds a sense of revealing a fact. A more descriptive formal option is あなたは養子縁組で育てられました, meaning "You were raised through adoption."
How does it change in a sentence?
To change the statement from the present tense "is/are" to the past tense "was", change the polite copula desu to deshita, resulting in 養子でした. In casual speech, adding n da to the end of a phrase makes it sound like an explanation or a revelation of a fact.
How do you pronounce it?
anata wa yōshi desu
Did you know?
- In Japan, the concept of 養子 historically included 'adult adoption', where a business owner would adopt a grown man to inherit the family name and company.
- The phrase 養子縁組 (yōshi engumi) uses the character 縁 (en), which refers to 'fate' or 'karmic connection', suggesting that the adoption is a predestined bond.
- Traditional Japanese adoption often involved a practice called 婿養子 (mukoyōshi), where a man was adopted into a wife's family specifically to carry on the family name.
Example conversation
A parent is revealing a family secret to their daughter.
- 健太 Kenta結衣、大切な話がある。実は、あなたは養子です。Yui, taisetsu na hanashi ga aru. Jitsu wa, anata wa yōshi desu.Yui, I have something important to tell you. Actually, you're adopted.
- 結衣 Yuiえっ、どういうこと？嘘だよね？E', dō iu koto? Uso da yo ne?What? What do you mean? You're joking, right?
- 健太 Kenta嘘ではないよ。ずっと伝えたかったんだ。Uso de wa nai yo. Zutto tsutaetakatta nda.It's not a lie. I've wanted to tell you for a long time.
- 結衣 Yui信じられない。今は整理がつかないよ。Shinjirarenai. Ima wa seiri ga tsukanai yo.I can't believe it. I can't process this right now.
