Jisho.org Forum

It just means he, it can be used by anyone.

Though it should be noted that this meaning of kare and kanojo were more or less added to Japanese when Japanese started to get major contact with foreign languages and was used mainly for translation of "he" and "she" in English. It's therefor a pretty modern usage of the word and it's not used even close to the extent as "he" is in english.

Kare (彼) is, along with kareshi (彼氏), often used as a noun which means "a boyfriend":
これ、彼からのプレゼントなの。 This is a gift from my boyfriend.
This is why the word seems to be mostly used by girls and women

Likewise kanojo (彼女) often means " a girlfriend" and so mostly used by males.

So... does that mean that even if I use it, it won't sound strange?
Or is there another word that men usually use to replace kare?

It won't sound strange unless you use it in the boyfriend way, that is, you talk about an undefined guy. For example, say you want to say "that guy over there has long hair", you shouldn't use "kare" first unless you've been discussing that guy before in the same conversation. Say "ano hito" or something like that. It has to be obvious that you're referring to some guy with kare, someone present or someone being discussed.

Saying for example "昨日、彼に会った。" will sound gay since the listener will assume you're talking about HIM, your boyfriend, UNLESS a sentence like the following one came first: "最近、田中さんに会った？", where it will be obvious you're referring to 田中さん.

Tobberoth explained it quite well.
As for manly sounding replacements... If you want to be mean you can use こいつ、そいつ or あいつ to replace 彼
:-D (they work the same as これ、それ and あれ and to make them plural you can add ら)

Buuut be careful because it will show your contempt for that person haha.
I use あいつ instead of 彼 when I talk about my gastroenterologist in Japan. :-P

I hear these on a daily basis. Japanese guys who are friends or colleagues use those 3 words intentionally to be "rough" in casual settings when referring to each other.
Like American guys say "THIS fool here" or "That punk" when referring to their friend (usually followed by a crazy story of what that particular fool did haha).
Come to think of it, in high school my friends even referred to each other as "this motherf***er" hahaha.

Posted By: KyosukeAce

[p]... I dun't really want to embarass myself in my jap speech if that's the case...

Anyone knows?[/p]

realizing that a lot of abbreviations occur because of texting, may i ask that you not shorten Japanese as such? i am ethnically Japanese and find it offensive to see it this way. i grew up being made sensitive to the shortened version as derogatory. the world was made aware that using the "n" word was a slur, this to me, is the same thing. i don't see it often on this site, so i didn't want to bring it up as a specific discussion. i also understand you didn't mean it as a slur, but still i ask that you refrain from using it. thank you.

While I agree that "jap speech" is an incredibly ignorant way of saying 日本語, this thread is half a year old. I doubt the original poster will see this.

Posted By: gardengalsu

[quote]

Posted By: KyosukeAce

[p]... I dun't really want to embarass myself in my jap speech if that's the case...

Anyone knows?[/p]

[p]realizing that a lot of abbreviations occur because of texting, may i ask that you not shorten Japanese as such? i am ethnically Japanese and find it offensive to see it this way. i grew up being made sensitive to the shortened version as derogatory. the world was made aware that using the "n" word was a slur, this to me, is the same thing. i don't see it often on this site, so i didn't want to bring it up as a specific discussion. i also understand you didn't mean it as a slur, but still i ask that you refrain from using it. thank you.[/p][/quote]

Having spent over half of my life as a member of an ethnic and national minority (white Brit in various African countries, gaijin in Japan...) I've had my fair share of opportunities to be offended, if I had chosen to take this approach. Instead, I chose to take the words "Brit", "honky", "gaijin" etc in the spirit in which they were meant, and I knew that people were rarely trying to be offensive. I respectfully suggest, therefore, that you grow up a little and stop being so sensitive.

Gardengalsu's post was a polite request, yours however comes across as slightly confrontational.
Maybe you should grow up a little ;)

Posted By: Kanjimancer

[p]Gardengalsu's post was a polite request, yours however comes across as slightly confrontational.

Maybe you should grow up a little ;)[/p]

It was an attempt to censor KyosukeAce's speech when he simply used an abbreviation (like Brit for British or Zim for Zimbabwean), and despite the fact that she herself realised he wasn't trying to be offensive.

Besides, he didn't even use the word to refer to Japanese people - he was talking about the Japanese language, so it would be very difficult to see any kind of racial slur there except for the kind of person who goes out of his or her way to find offense.

However polite her request may have been, it was unnecessary and I think I was right to say that she shouldn't be so sensitive.

"Brit" and "Zim" are unlikely to cause anybody offense as far as I know, but coming from Britain you must know how much trouble using the abbreviation for Pakistani can get you in. Like it or not "Jap" is a politically loaded word stemming from the extensive anti-Japanese propoganda used during WWII.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jap

Besides, if someone is offended by something, it is common courtesy to respect their wishes, regardless of personal opinion.

From your source:

In Singapore[9] and Hong Kong,[10] the term is used freely as a contraction of the adjective "Japanese" rather than as a derogatory term. The Australian news service Asia Pulse also uses the term.[11] In 1970, the Japanese fashion designer Kenzo Takada opened the "Jungle Jap" boutique in Paris.[12] In Japan itself, most Japanese are apathetic about the term, according to a 2004 study.[1]



But hey, whatever - live and let live, and if someone else wants to complain then who am I to stop 'em?

I'm happy to drop the topic now if others are.

I'd hardly call wikipedia MY source, I haven't even read the whole article, and of course there's going to be arguments for and against.
I just thought it might offer some insight into the historical context behind the term.
Modern usage is irrellevant, as long as it offends some people it should be avoided.
The "N word" is used heavily in modern rap music, but that doesn't make it any more appropriate to be used in a public forum.
My arguement is more that people have the right to be object to things which upset them, and shouldn't be criticised for it.
But I agree, live and let live, 十人十色.

Sorry, by "your source" I just meant "the article that you linked to".

Apologies also to gardengalsu - I could have expressed myself better. I've been in a narky mood today.

thank you to Kanjimancer and roro, both for your support and apologies. my mindset is always to try and educate, so that is what prompted me to write what i wrote. sometimes that gets me in trouble, but that's who i am. my belief is that if you feel something isn't right, respectfully speak up and most times it will be honored because the respect is there. i don't know what the Japan Japanese think, i only know what this American Japanese thinks.
"But I agree, live and let live, 十人十色." doumo arigatou for that sentiment and hontouni arigatou for that kotowaza ... i learned something new today!