Friday, October 14, 2016

kanojo 彼女, Meaning in Japanese: She, Her, Girlfriend

In Japanese, kanojo 彼女 means "she," "her," a female third person pronoun, or "girlfriend."

It's the female counterpart of kare, "he," "him," "boyfriend."

Third Person Pronoun

The word kanojo 彼女 is a female third person pronoun.

  • kanojo wa Hanako desu
    彼女は花子です
    She is Hanako.
  • kanojo wo tasukeru
    彼女を助ける
    To help her.
  • kanojo-tachi
    彼女たち
    She and the others. They.
    (plural.)
  • kanojo-ra
    彼女ら
    (same meaning, less common.)
  • kanojo no
    彼女
    Her.
    Hers.
    (no-adjective.)
  • kanojo-tachi no
    彼女たちの
    Their.
    Theirs.

Japanese is a pro-drop language, so it's not necessary to use kanojo in some places we'd use "she" in English, if it's implicit whom we're talking about. For example, in the answer for a question:

  • Hanako wa nani wo shite-iru?
    花子は何をしている?
    What is Hanako doing?
  • benkyou shite-iru
    勉強している
    [Hanako] is studying.
    [She] is studying.
    • kanojo wa benkyou shite-iru
      彼女は勉強している
      She is studying.
      (same meaning.)

"Girlfriend" in Japanese

The word kanojo 彼女 also means "girlfriend" in Japanese.

  • ore no kanojo
    俺の彼女
    My her. (wrong.)
    My girlfriend. (right.)
  • boku no kanojo
    僕の彼女
    (same meaning.)
  • kanojo wa iru?
    彼女はいる?
    Is she here? (locative.)
    Do [you] have a girlfriend? (possessive.)
    (existence verb.)
    • kanojo wa koko ni iru
      彼女はここにいる
      She is here.
    • ore wa kanojo ga inai
      俺は彼女がいない
      I don't have a girlfriend.
      (double subject construction.)
    • ore wa {kanojo ga inai} to ikite-ikenai
      俺は彼女がいないと生きていけない
      If {she isn't [around]}, I can't go on living.
      I can't go on living if she isn't around.
      I can't live without her.
  • atarashii kanojo ga dekita
    新しい彼女ができた
    [I] made a new girlfriend.
  • mae no kanojo
    前の彼女
    The girlfriend of before. (literally.)
    [My] previous girlfriend.
  • moto-kanojo
    彼女
    Former girlfriend. Ex-girlfriend.
なあ 彼女ってどうやったらできんの?
Manga: Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou 男子高校生の日常 (Chapter 2, 男子高校生と放課後)
  • naa, kanojo tte dou yattara dekin-no?
    なあ 彼女ってどうやったらできんの?
    Hey, what do [you] have to do to make a girlfriend?

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