あいつ

Register

Informal and rough. Among friends it can be affectionate (あいつ、いい奴(やつ)だよ); about strangers or rivals it sounds contemptuous. Never use it about a superior or to someone's face in polite company. Used by both men and women, more often by men.

Usage

あいつ is part of the こ・そ・あ・ど set of rough pronouns for people: こいつ (near the speaker), そいつ (near the listener or just mentioned), あいつ (far from both), どいつ (which one). Besides pointing at someone over there, あいつ refers to a person both speaker and listener know who is not present: あいつ元気(げんき)かな (I wonder how he's doing).

Writing

Occasionally written 彼奴(あいつ), but usually in hiragana.

Similar words

• あの人(ひと): the neutral, polite way to say "that person"
• あの方(かた): respectful
• 彼(かれ)/彼女(かのじょ): he/she; neutral but still avoided about superiors