Pluralization in Japanese: usage of -たち and -ら


I know that -たち and -ら pluralize the nouns they come after (or indicate a
group that the noun is part of), but most of the time the plural in Japanese
is implicit. When is it appropriate or necessary to use -たち or -ら?

(Bonus question: is there any difference except formality between -たち and -ら?)




「～[方]{がた}」, 「～[達]{たち}」, and 「～[等]{ら}」 have the same meaning as "et alia" or
"and company" in English; you use it when you mean one person (any of the
three suffixes) or animal (「～達」 and 「～等」 only) and all the others that are
attending them (e.g. 「アマンダさん方」).

「～方」 is honorific and 「～達」 is neutral, but 「～等」 is deprecating or familiar and
so should usually only be used with family or the first person unless you have
a specific reason for it.

