Vocabulary Sprint w12 — the people around you, and five words to recognise but not say

Words this lesson teaches

彼

he — and, just as often in speech, a boyfriend; use the person's name

彼女

she — and a girlfriend; the same warning as 彼

彼ら

they — written Japanese, chiefly; speech would name them or say nothing

君

you — from a senior to a junior, or between close friends; never upward

僕

I — male, and casual; わたし is the form that is safe everywhere

息子

my son — somebody else's is 息子さん

娘

my daughter — somebody else's is お嬢さん or 娘さん

夫

my husband — somebody else's is ご主人

妻

my wife — somebody else's is 奥さん

祖父

my grandfather — somebody else's, and how you address your own, is おじいさん

祖母

my grandmother — the same rule, with おばあさん

客

a guest, a customer — お客さん to their face and about them in a shop

市民

a citizen, a resident of a city — 民 is the populace, as 市 is the city

運転手

a driver — 手 makes an agent of a skill, as it does in 歌手, a singer

看護婦

a nurse, in the obsolete gendered form — the title in law is now 看護師

歯医者

a dentist — 歯 tooth plus 医者; 者 makes a person of a calling

警察

the police — the institution; one officer is a 警察官

あかちゃん

a baby — the everyday word, usually written 赤ちゃん

赤ん坊

an infant — the same thing, held at a little more distance

ちゃん

an affectionate suffix — for small children of either sex, close friends and pets; not female

指

a finger, or a toe — one word, and 足の指 for the foot

背中

the back — of a body; the back of an object is 裏 or 後ろ

血

blood — one syllable, and a native word, as w11c would predict

お見舞い

a visit to somebody ill — a noun, not an adjective as the syllabus has it

皆

everybody, all — みんな in speech, and 皆さん when addressing them

お宅

your home — and, by extension, a polite you; 宅 is a dwelling