あの方かた

あ

の

か

た

Common wordJLPTN5

Meanings

1

pronoun

that person; he; she

honorific or respectful (sonkeigo)

Polite, honorific third-person pronoun used to refer to someone distant from both speaker and listener. Gender-neutral, but often translated as 'that gentleman' or 'that lady' when the gender is known. More respectful than あの人.

あの方かたはどなたですか。

Who is that person?

あの方かたは私わたしの恩おん師しです。

That person is my former teacher.

Usage patterns

あの方かたはどなたですかWho is that person? (polite)
あの方かたはどなたですか。
Who is that person, if I may ask?
あの方かたによろしくお伝つたえくださいplease give my regards to that person
あの方かたによろしくお伝つたえください。
Please give my regards to that person.
あの方かたにお目めにかかるto have the honor of meeting that person (humble)
あの方かたにお目めにかかれて光こう栄えいです。
It's an honor to meet that person.

Kanji

方direction, person, alternative
彼he, that, the

Related words

あちらN5
あちら is an even more indirect, gender-neutral way to refer to a person (often used in business or when pointing vaguely), while あの方 directly and respectfully names a specific person as 'that person.'

Opposites

この方かた
この方 refers to a person close to the speaker ('this person'), while あの方 refers to someone distant from both speaker and listener ('that person').

Politeness

あの人ひとplain
あの人 is the plain, everyday way to say 'that person,' while あの方 is the more honorific version used to show respect toward the person referred to.

Written forms

あの方かた
Standard polite spelling; the kanji 方 is used for 'person' in honorific contexts.
彼あの方かた
Rare kanji spelling; 彼 is normally read かれ, so this form can be confusing. The kana or あの方 spelling is strongly preferred.

Etymology

Compound of あの (that) + 方 (かた, honorific term for 'person'). The reading かた for 方 is a polite alternative to ひと.