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Unless you're speaking to a general audience like in a speech or an advertisement or a song or something, just don't use it. It's a word that's used between husband and wife and from superiors to inferiors, so there's a lot of weight to it and you can really offend someone if you use it when you're not supposed to.

Use people's names, or general terms for people if you don't know them, like obasan for a middle-age woman. I'm not totally sure how often it's used but "sochira" even might be okay.

Japanese people tend not to use pronouns like "you" "we" or "I" unlike in English.

The reason your podcast probably uses "anata" a lot is because for English speakers it is hard to wrap our heads around the concept that we don't have to say "I" "you" "we" "her" etc. at the beginning of a sentence. A lot of textbooks and such will have sentences like "Watashi no namae ha _____ desu" to make the grammar more similar to English grammar, and therefore "easier" for English speakers to pick up.



But as Okonomiyaki said, more use people's names or general terms to refer to one another, and it is considered an honor of close friendship to be able to call someone by only their first name. However, "sochira" and "soitsu" aren't really the most politest terms to use, so I would stay away from them and stick to people's names.

Yes, it does mean "you" and from what i hear it impolite to use. Another question for the experts: Say i go to japan soon, and i can't think of any other word to use than Anata, what would be worse (considering i am still absolute begginer) just using Anata, or thinking for a long time until i could think of some other word?

o.O
Can you really use obasan, ojisan, etc. that way? I've only learned them as grandmother, grandfather, etc. to be used among family members.

'Bouya' is practically only heard in anime. Don't use it in real life, that would be pretty rude. It's like calling a teenager "little boy" in English. But you shouldn't call any actual little boys "bouya" either. For young kids just say their names -- ex. Jirou-kun or Junko-chan -- or if you don't know those, "anata" or even "kimi" are acceptable. The rules of politeness don't apply to young kids the same way they do to adults.

Also, I would advise you to never call old ladies obaasan. You know how it's not polite to ask a woman's age? Same idea. XD; Some people get offended by it. Twenty-something/thirty-something people also don't like being called 'obasan/ojisan' since it does, as mentioned, imply a middle-aged person. So if you want to use those titles, 'oneesan/oniisan' for young adults, and 'obasan/ojisan' for older folks are probably the most inoffensive. (I would not advise using the word 'ojousan' -- it has connotations of a rich/uppercrust/sheltered girl and isn't appropriate for all situations.)

tl;dr: Call people by their names! XD; Just ask for them. Anata is also okay, especially if it's a total stranger on the train or something and you're just idly chatting. I lived in Japan for a year and a half and never once used any of these titles to someone's face.

isn't oniisan meaning older brother =_=""

Obasan and Ojisan mean "aunt" and "uncle" technically. Obaasan and Ojiisan are grandmother and grandfather.
And yes, it is acceptable, though usually used at restaurants run by someone middle-aged and up.


@ki-ri-to:I know "bouya" is insulting to a teenager, which is why I said it is used towards small children. Yes, the most common usage is in anime, but you do very occasionally hear it used. Kids are the only ones I would suggest using "anata" or "kimi" to.
The English school I work for currently in central Japan often addresses our elderly students with "obasan" and "ojiisan" and it is perfectly acceptable. I'm not saying use them for people in their 20s and 30s, but for people who are quite in the upper range of middle-age/elderly. Some will consider it respect as it means you are putting them on the same level as you would your own grandparents/elders who you respect.
While "ojousan" does usually have a rich/spoiled girl connotation to it, if said softly it is an acceptable manner to address young women as "miss". Used most when asking someone for directions or getting the attention of a waitress.


@acornlove: Yes, it does mean "older brother" but can be used to address a young man older than you, though is usually used mainly by small children.