Who in Japanese: How to Use 誰 (dare) Like a Native Speaker

Yuka

I know 誰 means ‘who,’ but I’ve also seen どなた used the same way. When do I use which?

Rei

Great distinction to learn! 誰 (dare) is neutral/casual — you use it with friends and in everyday speech. どなた (donata) is the polite form — use it when speaking formally or respectfully. Let me show you both fully!

誰 (だれ / dare) is one of Japanese’s essential question words, meaning who. Like all question words in Japanese, it follows specific grammatical rules and has a polite counterpart. Mastering it will make your questions sound natural and appropriately respectful.

誰 (だれ): Who — Neutral Usage

誰 is the standard, neutral way to ask or refer to ‘who.’ It works in most everyday situations and combines with particles just like other question words.

Note: in questions, 誰 can appear with か at the end of a sentence in formal speech, or with a rising intonation in casual speech.

Yuka

So 誰 works with all the standard particles — が、を、に、の、と?

Rei

Exactly! Like all Japanese question words, 誰 just slips into the same particle slots as any noun. The particle tells you the relationship.

どなた: Polite ‘Who’

どなた is the respectful/polite form of 誰. Use it when asking about or addressing someone you’re being formal with — at work, meeting strangers, customer service, etc.

誰か / 誰でも / 誰も

Important compounds with 誰:

Yuka

誰も〜ない vs 誰でも — one is nobody and the other is everyone?

Rei

Exactly! 誰でも = anyone (open to all). 誰も (with negative) = no one. This is the same pattern as 何も (nothing) vs 何でも (anything).

Quick Quiz

Fill in the blank:

1. ___が先生ですか？(casual: Who is the teacher?)
2. ご担当者は___でしょうか？(formal: Who is the person in charge?)
3. ___も分からなかった。(Nobody understood.)

Answers: 1. 誰 (casual) 2. どなた (polite) 3. 誰も (nobody — with negative verb)

Summary

Yuka

今まで誰に聞いていいか分からなかったけど、JPYokosoに聞けばよかった！

Rei

And now you know exactly how to ask 誰に聞けばいい？ — ‘Who should I ask?’ — in real Japanese. That’s the kind of practical fluency that matters.

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