GrammarJLPT N5
→ plural suffix
Pluralizing Suffix for People and Animals
JLPT N5SuffixNeutral
たち is a suffix attached to nouns — primarily those referring to people and animals — to indicate plurality. Unlike English, Japanese nouns do not normally change form to show singular versus plural, so たち serves as an explicit plural marker when the speaker wants to clarify that more than one person or creature is being discussed. It is most naturally used with pronouns like わたし, あなた, かれ, and かのじょ, as well as with names and kinship terms. When attached to a person's name (e.g., 田中さんたち), it means "Tanaka-san and the others / Tanaka-san's group," rather than "multiple Tanakas." This associative plural usage is an important feature of たち. While たち is neutral in register, learners should be aware of the more humble or rough alternative ら and the more respectful がた (e.g., 先生がた). Using たち with inanimate objects is generally unnatural in standard Japanese, though it can appear in literary or personifying contexts.
Functions
#1 Pluralizing pronouns
Structure
Pronoun + たち
わたしたちは学生です。
The most common use of たち is to turn singular personal pronouns into their plural forms. Here, わたし (I) becomes わたしたち (we) by adding たち. Similarly, かれたち means "they (male)" and かのじょたち means "they (female)." This is one of the first uses of たち that beginners encounter.We are students.
Structures
- Noun (person/animal)
- Noun + たち
- Pronoun
- Pronoun + たち
Common mistakes
A common mistake is using たち with inanimate objects such as 本たち (books) or いすたち (chairs); this sounds unnatural because たち is reserved for people and animals in standard usage. Another frequent error is assuming that a name plus たち means multiple people with the same name, when it actually means that person and their group. Learners also sometimes confuse たち with ら, not realizing that ら can sound rough or dismissive when attached to pronouns like あいつら, whereas たち remains neutral. Finally, overusing たち is a common issue — since Japanese often leaves plurality to context, adding たち in every sentence where English would say a plural can sound redundant or unnatural.
Related
らがたどもの (possessive)みんな