A polite way to say " this person"


What do I say in Japanese when I'm trying to imply, "This is my dad", "These
are my parents", "This is my friend(female)" or "This is my manager"?

I don't think using `これ` is polite, nor will `彼` be appropriate.




The alternative to これ in polite Japanese conversation is こちら (you should find
it in most 初級Japanese text books on how to introduce yourself.)

To implement this （borrowing Dono's answer） I would say:

> こちらは私の父です。 This is my father.  
>  こちらは私の両親です。These are my parents.  
>  こちらは私の友達、由美子です。This is my friend Yumiko.  
>  こちらは私のマネジャー（上司）です。This is my manager.

You can even use this to introduce yourself on the phone:

> [あの..]こちらはABCのVenkatesh Kumarですが[いつもお世話になっております。]

The stop gap alternative to referring to people by pronouns (he/she/you etc)
is to use their name. You would attach the suffix (さん etc) according to the
relationship between you, your 相手 and your colleague.friend etc.




The alternative to これ in polite Japanese conversation is こちら (you should find
it in most 初級Japanese text books on how to introduce yourself.)

To implement this （borrowing Dono's answer） I would say:

> こちらは私の父です。 This is my father.  
>  こちらは私の両親です。These are my parents.  
>  こちらは私の友達、由美子です。This is my friend Yumiko.  
>  こちらは私のマネジャー（上司）です。This is my manager.

You can even use this to introduce yourself on the phone:

> [あの..]こちらはABCのVenkatesh Kumarですが[いつもお世話になっております。]

The stop gap alternative to referring to people by pronouns (he/she/you etc)
is to use their name. You would attach the suffix (さん etc) according to the
relationship between you, your 相手 and your colleague.friend etc.

