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otoko/onna vs otoko/onna no hito

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DeeLan
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Joined: December 8th, 2016 1:29 pm

otoko/onna vs otoko/onna no hito

Postby DeeLan » December 28th, 2016 9:28 am

I'm sure there is a simple answer to this, but after some googling I haven't really found any clear answers (or at least answers I understand). From my understanding 'otoko' means 'man/male', and 'onna' means 'woman/female'. Yet for some reason I've mostly seen the phrases 'otoko no hito' (male person/man person) and 'onna no hito' (woman person/female person) to refer to men or women respectively. One such example is the line "Sara wa otoko no hito ga kirai desu." (Sarah doesn't like men). Why is it that we need to add the 'no hito' (if I understand correctly 'hito' means 'person'), to 'otoko' and onna. Wouldn't it just be easier to write/say "Sara wa otoko ga kirai desu.". Does this have something to do with context or formality?
Note: I'm still very much in the beginner phases of learning.

hanskamp1966_514936
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Posts: 5
Joined: January 7th, 2017 11:45 am

Re: otoko/onna vs otoko/onna no hito

Postby hanskamp1966_514936 » January 15th, 2017 3:40 pm

I have been told that "otoko no hito" and "on'na no hito" are more respectful (less rude) than "otoko" and "on'na". I also see "dansei" and "josei" for "man" and "woman" respectively.

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community.japanese
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Joined: November 16th, 2012 8:54 am

Re: otoko/onna vs otoko/onna no hito

Postby community.japanese » February 1st, 2017 10:32 am

DeeLan san
Konnichiwa.
What san said is right.

Thank you, san.
:)
Yuki 由紀
Team JapanesePod101.com

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