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How To Say Man In Japanese (3 Different Ways)

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Just like how we have other words in English for ‘man’ such as guy, bloke, or dude, Japanese has synonyms for ‘man’ which you should know!

The kanji for male in Japanese is 男 (kunyomi: otoko, onyomi: dan) and you will often see it written on public toilets in Japan, so if there’s one take away before we start, memorise this character so you don’t go into the wrong toilet! 

There are words for ‘man’ in Japanese that are more polite than others and not all of them feature the kanji mentioned above （男）. 

Let’s look at the different ways to refer to guys in Japanese and how to use them!

Table Of Contents
  1. Otoko / otoko no hito
  2. Dansei
  3. Yatsu

Otoko / otoko no hito

男 / 男の人

Man

The entrance to a male changing room at a Japanese bathhouse, showing the kanji 男 (male or man in Japanese).
The entrance to a male changing room at a Japanese bathhouse, showing the kanji 男 (male or man). Image source: Michael Ocampo from United States, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The basic way to say ‘man’ in Japanese is otoko (男 / おとこ) but be careful, it’s not polite. Otoko is a noun that means an adult male. When used in compound words, otoko indicates the male gender in general such as in the word for ‘boy’ in Japanese which is otoko no ko (男の子, lit: male child) or the phrase otoko nomi (男のみ) which means ‘males only’. 

Otoko is just a regular noun for man with no politeness attached to it. That’s why you will often hear the word otoko no hito / 男の人 instead when someone is talking about a man. The addition of the no / の particle and the word hito / 人 defines the male as a ‘person’, giving it a more respectful nuance, just like its female equivalent onna no hito / 女の人。

Saying otoko by itself in a conversation sounds a little rough. You could technically use it for a male animal too. It’s like saying someone’s name in Japanese without an honorific like san. 

For example:

Ano otoko wa dare desu ka?
あの男は誰ですか？
あの おとこ は だれ です か？
Who is that man / guy?

The above sentence might be said between two friends in private but it sounds rude. 

In general it’s better to use otoko no hito / 男の人 than otoko to refer to a man. 

But Japanese is highly contextual, so often when it’s obvious the person being talked about is a man, people will just say:

  • Are wa dare desu ka / あれは誰ですか？ (who’s that?)  Informal / Casual
  • Ano hito wa dare desu ka? (who’s that person?)  Polite
  • Kare wa dare desu ka / 彼は誰ですか (who is he?)  Polite

And remember, otoko is different to otoko no ko (男の子/おとこのこ) which means ‘boy’ (hence the add