Kisama in Japanese (and the Many Reasons NOT to Say It)

On this article we’ll be discussing the Japanese phrase kisama in nice element. We’ll cowl what it means (after all), and likewise how to write it, use it, and the place it comes from.

It’s a considerably unusual phrase in the Japanese language, with an extended and ranging historical past, so it’s nicely price the time to perceive all of its distinctive particulars.

First, let’s begin with the actually easy stuff…

What does kisama mean in Japanese?

Kisama is a pronoun meaning “you.” A very long time in the past it was a time period of respect, nevertheless immediately this can be very impolite, carrying a way of contempt. It’s often solely heard in Japanese media and never used in on a regular basis life.

How to write kisama

Kisama will be written in 4 methods, as many Japanese phrases can.

First, you may simply write it as we now have been, in romaji: kisama. Then in hiragana as きさま or katakana as キサマ. Lastly, there’s the kanji method of writing it, 貴様.

The primary kanji has a number of meanings. It might probably mean “costly,” “valuable,” “aristocratic,” or “esteemed.” The character 貴 is simplified from 䝿 and got here to Japan from Center Chinese language.

The second kanji is only a respectful suffix.

The meaning of kisama immediately

To maintain it actually easy, kisama is only a pronoun meaning “you.”

That’s the straightforward half. Now for the extra advanced utilization.

In some sense, it’s thought-about a really, very impolite phrase. It carries a variety of contempt for the individual being spoken to. Nonetheless, at the identical time, it’s type of antiquated.

These days, you’ll see kisama written in manga, or spoken angrily in anime. Due to this, in the event you had been to say it in actual life you in all probability wouldn’t offend anybody.

In reality, as an alternative of exhibiting contempt for the different individual, you’ll simply make your self appear to be a totally uncool lose. Extra particularly, you’ll sound like an otaku, aka an enormous nerd.

Think about saying, in English, “You scurrilous idiot!” Like, certain, that’s not a pleasant factor to say to somebody, I suppose, however actually you’d simply sound like a neckbeard loser in the event you tried to insult somebody that method.

So, in actual life immediately, kisama can be thought-about “extraordinarily cringe.”

Nonetheless, you may very well hear this phrase in a non-contemptuous method in the event you had been to watch interval items coping with life from the seventeenth to nineteenth century. Why is that?

The historic meaning of kisama

There’s some thriller about the origins of this phrase, with a minimum of three totally different origin tales. That mentioned, one factor consultants are fairly sure about is that kisama was a intentionally created phrase.

It might have began as a shortened for of kimi-sama, 君様. That first kanji is immediately most acquainted to Japanese learners as the phrase for “you,” however also can mean “lord” or “ruler.”

The second kanji is the respectful suffix. So, principally, the phrase might have began as translating to “honorable lord.”

The second risk is that it got here from kisho-sama, 貴所様. Kisho is a respectful method to refer to another person’s residence. And, after all, we now have that respectful suffix once more.

These two are pretty unlikely explanations for a pair causes. First, due to the large distinction between the preliminary kanji used.

Then there’s the incontrovertible fact that kimisama, kishosama, and kisama had been all in use at the identical time, one thing that isn’t often seen.

And, lastly, as a result of, in Japanese, when a phrase loses a few of its sounds, it often additionally loses its politeness. Nonetheless, in its preliminary use kisama was a really well mannered time period.

Lastly, we now have the risk that it’s simply the mixture of ki for “swish,” and that all-important suffix once more, -sama.

Kisama was created at the very tail finish of the Sengoku period as a proper method to handle a letter from one samurai to one other.

Beginning in the Edo interval, kisama made its method into on a regular basis speech.

In the first half of the Edo interval, that speech was nonetheless relegated principally to the samurai class, though there’s sturdy proof that it was utilized by folks of decrease standing to converse to these above them.

In the second half of that interval, the time period began to lose its politeness.

First, it began to be used for folks of equal standing, after which regularly it was used to converse down to somebody.

By the Meiji interval the politeness was utterly gone and was used solely derogatorily and with contempt.

Sadly, my analysis didn’t inform me when the phrase moved out of colloquial speech and made itself merely a fixture of media language.

Different choices as an alternative of kisama

A detailed cousin of kisama is the phrase temee, written 手前, though it’s extra widespread to see it written てめえ.

These kanji are “hand” and “entrance,” respectively. It’s demeaning, in a method, referring to “you” as “this factor in entrance of my hand.

This one will get heard quite a bit in media, however it’s additionally heard in actual life. It’s what you may name “fightin’ phrases.”

One other phrase for “you” is omae, written お前, or おまえ. Yup, that’s the identical kanji as in temee. This one’s like saying “this individual in entrance of me.”

Once more, barely demeaning. And, sure, that is the honorific o- at the entrance, however in this case it doesn’t counsel any honor.

Whereas omae is a really tough phrase, and may undoubtedly be very aggressive with strangers, you’ll hear this phrase used amongst pals and even amongst {couples}. Take your time studying the nuances of this one.

Lastly, let’s speak about anata, often written あなた. This can be a type of “generic” pronoun for “you.”

You’ll hear it amongst {couples} and pals, and outdated folks like to use it with youthful folks. That mentioned, it’s a bit impolite. Not temee-rude, however not good, relying on the circumstance.

That is one other phrase to watch out with and be taught the proper context for. Typically it’s a really vital phrase, however typically it’d be ill-advised to use it.

So lengthy, you

That’s all! Now you recognize how (not) to use “kisama,” and all about its historical past. And you’ve got a number of good choices to exchange it in your vocabulary while you want a method to get somebody’s consideration. Good luck on the market!