Let’s learn Japanese with All Might’s quote from My Hero Academia (Boku no Hero Academia).
CONTENTS
Video
All Might’s Quote
Japanese: 君はヒーローになれる。
Romaji: kimi wa hīrō ni nareru.
English: You can become a hero.
Analysis
君 means “you”, one of the second person pronouns you often hear in anime.
は is the particle which indicates the topic of the sentence. So 君 which is Izuku is what he is going to talk about.
ヒーロー means “a hero” (please note that the “R” sound in Japanese is more like between ’t’ and ‘l’).
Noun + に なれる means “can become something“. なれる is the potential form of なる meaning “to become“.
Second person pronouns – 君, あなた, あんた and お前
They’re all used to inferiors or between equals and considered to be rude when used towards superiors, elders or strangers.
君
It’s commonly used in an affectionate way by both males and females. In poems and songs, it is often used to address someone they have feelings for. It is also used by a male boss to his subordinates just like how All Might addresses Izuku who is his successor.
あなた
The most neutral “you” in these pronouns. It can be used by both males and females and it sounds soft and polite. But still, if you call a superior あなた, it sounds condescending. It’s also used by women to address their husband, like calling them ”dear” in English.
あんた
The broken version of あなた used by both males and females. It sounds a bit offensive and disrespectful.
お前
It’s often used by men when offending someone, calling a friend in a blunt way, or calling a girl in a manly way.
Actually, Japanese second person pronouns are not used as often as English. You usually omit them or if you know their name, you use their name. If you use pronouns even though you know their name, you might give the impression that you are distancing yourself from them. So you’d better get used to calling a person by their name with the honorific suffix, さん, or just ask what they are comfortable being called.
Examples
Second Person Pronouns
ちょっと君、会議の準備してくれる？
chotto kimi, kaigi no junbi shite kureru?
Hey you, can you prepare for the meeting?
あなた、もう起きる時間ですよ。
anata, mō okiru jikan desu yo.
Dear, it’s time to wake up.
あんた、バカ？
anta, baka?
Are you stupid?
おいお前、ふざけんなよ。
oi omae, fuzakenna yo.
Hey you, don’t muck around.
- おめえ: broken version of お前, used by males in very blunt speech.
- てめえ: rude, used when the speaker is very angry.
- きさま: abusive, used to express extreme hostility/outrage.
- おたく: literally means “your house”, used in polite speech with slight sense of distance.
When you call your boss at work, it is considered to be appropriate to call them by their job titles such as Chief (主任), Manager (部長), President (社長) and so on. You can also add their name before the title, such as 山田部長 (Manager Yamada).
Noun + に + なる (to become something)
明日、二十歳になる。
ashita, hatachi ni naru.
I will turn twenty years old tomorrow.
明日天気になるといいな。
ashita tenki ni naru to ii na.
I hope it’s going to be a good weather tomorrow.
将来はサッカー選手になりたい。
shōrai wa sakkā senshu ni naritai.
I want to become a soccer player in the future.
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