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誰 (だれ, dare) Japanese meaning: who | Kotomora

誰だれ

also: だあれ · だーれ

だ

れ

Common word›JLPTN5›Freq.FrequencyTop 200

Meanings

1

Basic interrogative pronoun asking for a person's identity. The reading だあれ is an emphatic or inquisitive variant.

あの人ひとは誰だれですか。
Who is that person?

誰だれが来くるの？

Who's coming?

Usage patterns

誰だれが〈動どう詞し〉who does (something)
誰だれが来きますか。
Who is coming?
誰だれの〈物もの〉whose (thing)
これは誰だれの傘かさですか。
Whose umbrella is this?
誰だれと〈動どう詞し〉with whom (do something)
誰だれと映えい画がを見みに行いきますか。
Who are you going to see the movie with?
誰だれに〈物もの〉をあげるgive (something) to whom
このプレゼントは誰だれにあげるの？
Who are you giving this present to?

Expressions· 20

誰だれもeveryone; anyone · no one; nobody; not anyone
誰だれ得とくwho benefits?; who cares?; who would want that? · pointless; extremely niche; appealing to no one
誰だれうまnice!; very good!; so witty!; that's clever
誰だれしもeveryone; anyone · no one
誰だれでもanyone; anybody; everyone; whoever

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誰だれにもto anyone; to everyone · by anyone; by everyone · in anyone; in everyone
誰だれ一人ひとり(not) anyone; no one; nobody
どこの誰だれwho the heck; just who (is that)?

See all 20 in Explore →

Kanji

誰who, someone, somebody

Related words

何なに者もの
誰 is the neutral, everyday word for 'who', while 何者 specifically questions a person's true identity or nature, often with suspicion.
何なに人びと
誰 is the everyday word for 'who', while 何人 is a literary, emphatic term used mainly in negative or rhetorical statements meaning 'anyone at all'.
何なに様さま
何様 sarcastically implies the person is acting above their station, while 誰 is the neutral question word for 'who'.

Politeness

どなたpolite 丁寧語N5
どなた is the polite/honorific form of 誰, used when addressing someone respectfully or in formal contexts.
どちらN5
誰 is the plain word for 'who', while どちら is the polite way to ask the same thing.

Don't confuse with

何なにN5
何 asks about a thing or fact ('what'), while 誰 asks about a person's identity ('who'); learners sometimes reach for the wrong one when the referent is ambiguous.
誰だれかN5
誰 is the plain interrogative 'who' used to ask for a specific identity, while 誰か adds the indefinite '-ka' to mean an unspecified 'someone'.

Word family· 8

誰だれ彼かれ
anyone and everyone; this or that person; many people
誰だれかN5
someone; somebody
誰だれ々だれ
so-and-so; someone (unspecified) · who?; which people?
誰だれぞ
someone; somebody

Written forms

誰Usage78%
- だれ
  Standard kanji spelling for 'who'.
- だあれ
だれUsage22%
Kana spelling is common in informal writing and when the kanji is not needed.

Etymology

Native Japanese word. The kanji 誰 is a 国字 (kokuji) created in Japan, combining 言 (word) and 隹 (bird) to represent the idea of asking 'who'.

誰だれそれ

a certain someone; Mr/Ms So-and-so

Show 3 more

誰だれかさん
a certain someone; you-know-who
誰だれであれ
whoever; no matter who
誰だれも彼かれも
everyone; every single person; one and all

だーれUsage<1%

search-only kana form

Search-only kana form representing the drawn-out pronunciation.

だあれUsage<1%

Emphatic or inquisitive drawn-out pronunciation; mainly used in casual speech or dialogue.