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彼 and あちら

thesuker

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On my android app, while searching for the word 医者, I found the example 彼は医者です. So, as I didn't have the foggiest idea of what 彼 meant, I looked it up, and in the example, it's read as かれ, but in the definition of the kanji 彼, it's read as あれ. So, is it a kanji with more than one pronuntiation, depending on context? Also, if 彼 means 'that person over there' (with the かれ pronuntiation) , what's the difference with あちら?
 
thesuker said:
but in the definition of the kanji 彼, it's read as あれ.
Click to expand...
That's obsolete.

thesuker said:
So, is it a kanji with more than one pronuntiation, depending on context?
Click to expand...
Of course, yes.

thesuker said:
Also, if 彼 means 'that person over there' (with the かれ pronuntiation) , what's the difference with あちら?
Click to expand...
かれ【彼】の英語・英訳 - 和英辞書 - goo辞書
あちら【彼方】の英語・英訳 - 和英辞書 - goo辞書
 
so あちら is more generic than 彼? 彼 is specifically that person over there, and 彼方 that over there, which can refer to a person or a thing?

I'm using Kore/Kono, Sore/Sono and Are/Ano as reference, specifically this line:

person

こちら[kochira] そちら[sochira] あちら[achira]
 
You can use あちら. The kanji 彼方 is almost never used for あちら, at least nowadays. It's quite the same as 此方 which is not used for こちら.
 
So would

彼は。。。。。。です
あちらは。。。。。です

Both be correct to say 'that person over there is....'
 
Yeah, I did, but just beginning to learn Japanese and the examples are a bit complex (^_^. What I understand is 彼=that person over there, and あちら=that over there. But then I dont see the difference between あれ and あちら (also あちら is for direction)

Or maybe its that あちら means over there and combined with something means 'something over there'?
 
彼 means "he", not "a person over there".
 
Now I feel stupid :shy: I've only done 私 and あなた up to now. Guess I won't be forgetting the meaning of 彼 anytime soon. どうもありがとう for your patience with me
 
Another meaning of 彼 is "boyfriend", so "彼がいますか" can mean "is he there?" or "do you have a boyfriend?" depending on context. Same goes for the female variant, 彼女 (かのじょ), which can mean "she" or "girlfriend".
 
You had to go and use が I'm guessing 彼がいますか because we're asking about the boyfriend, and 彼はいますか if we're asking specifically if he's there, and not anywhere else (kind of 'Is he THERE'? in English)?
 
You have a point there. When asking "do you have a boyfriend" (any person at all), it'll indeed be better to use は, while using が to ask about a specific person being present.
 
彼はいますか？ can mean "Do you have a boyfriend?" in some context, for instance, when は is used as a contrastive marker.

A: 結婚していますか？
B: いえ、独身です。
A: 彼はいますか？
B: はい、います。

彼氏 or 恋人 would be more common in this meaning, though.
 
Would 彼は彼氏ですか be correct as an alternative to 彼はいますか ?
 
彼は彼氏ですか means "Is he your boyfriend?"
 
Yeah realized it a while ago. Its something id say if her boyfriend were around or the topic of conversation.
 
彼が彼氏ですか is used in that situation.
 
が because the info you want is if HE is your boyfriend, and not if he's a boyfriend,brother,etc?
 
Exactly. The emphasis/The most important information you want to convey is put before が and after は.
 
In the dialogue you posted before,

A: 結婚していますか？
B: いえ、独身です。
A: 彼はいますか？
B: はい、います。

は is used as a contrastive marker. In contrast with what exactly? The first question?
 
You're going to find that Japanese has oodles and oodles of pronouns....and goes out its way not to use them.

Seriously, I practically never use second or third person pronouns.
 
Right.
 
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