Is there a less formal way to say あなた？


My friend told me I sound too polite when I say あなた, but my book only uses
that for second person pronoun. Are there multiple ways to say it and if so,
which one is best to use with friends?




There are several you can use instead:

  * あんた → Basically a familiar version of あなた. 
  * [君]{きみ} → Sounds a little more endearing to me, but that may not always be the case
  * お[前]{まえ} → _Very_ informal. Can be considered rude and/or derogatory depending on the context in which you use it and how well you know the person.

Lastly, it's very common not to use the second person at all. Many people
(particularly, young people) will just address their friends by the name they
are most well known (first, last, nickname), possibly with a ～くん or ～ちゃん
tacked on (but that's usually how they're most well known anyway). For
example,

>   * [陽子]{よう・こ}ちゃんは行く？ → Are you going Yoko?
>   * サトシは昨日のクラスをサボって、父親に知られちゃった。だから、厳しく叱られたんだ。 → Satoshi skipped yesterday's
> class and his father found out. He really got in trouble for it!
>   * [小川]{お・がわ}さんはゴスペルを歌うことが好きみたいですね。とてもお上手です！ → Mrs. Ogawa, you seem to
> really like singing Gospel music. You're very talented at it!
>

Or for slightly- to intensely more polite situations, the usual `last name +
さん` also works. In all my experience living in Japan, it was very rare to hear
あなた.




There are several you can use instead:

  * あんた → Basically a familiar version of あなた. 
  * [君]{きみ} → Sounds a little more endearing to me, but that may not always be the case
  * お[前]{まえ} → _Very_ informal. Can be considered rude and/or derogatory depending on the context in which you use it and how well you know the person.

Lastly, it's very common not to use the second person at all. Many people
(particularly, young people) will just address their friends by the name they
are most well known (first, last, nickname), possibly with a ～くん or ～ちゃん
tacked on (but that's usually how they're most well known anyway). For
example,

>   * [陽子]{よう・こ}ちゃんは行く？ → Are you going Yoko?
>   * サトシは昨日のクラスをサボって、父親に知られちゃった。だから、厳しく叱られたんだ。 → Satoshi skipped yesterday's
> class and his father found out. He really got in trouble for it!
>   * [小川]{お・がわ}さんはゴスペルを歌うことが好きみたいですね。とてもお上手です！ → Mrs. Ogawa, you seem to
> really like singing Gospel music. You're very talented at it!
>

Or for slightly- to intensely more polite situations, the usual `last name +
さん` also works. In all my experience living in Japan, it was very rare to hear
あなた.

