Kimi vs Anata

[Sai]

I know that they both mean 'you' but what are the feelings behind the words? Is one politer than the other one? When would you use one and when would you use the other, and why?

[Shia]

They are both polite, but kimi (きみ；君) is commonly used by males, and anata (あなた) is used by females.
Less polite (informal) forms include omae （おまえ；お前） for males, and anta (あんた） for females. Hope that helps.

[Sai]

yea it does, thanks a lot!

[Max]

um, kimi can actually be rude. kimi is mostly used by seniors when talking to juniors. It doesn't really matter if you're a girl or a boy. If you're using kimi while talking to a senior he/she or she would probably say that your 敬語 isn't really the best, or they will just ignore it, hehe.:)
and omae is usually used more by boys, yes, among friends, but it's more used when someone's angry for example.

[Sai]

The thing is that kimi is used in a song that is song by a girl, and its not really insulting there I don't think so I'm kind of confused about that.

[Max]

well, it's okay in songs, you hear "kimi" in songs quite frequently.

[Shia]

In general a girl would not use kimi in everyday conversation. In a song context, MAYBE she used kimi instead of anata because the former is 2 syllable and latter is 3...maybe kimi with its 2 syllable sounded better with the song...? Sorry Jon I dont exactly know why

True omae is generally used by boys, but not necessary more when you're angry i think. For example, husbands call their wives omae...i like to think that they're not angry when they say it

Please note that i say "generally" in both cases, because there are always exceptions to the rule

In everyday conversation, Japanese (i think) tend to address each other by name...assuming they know it. I personally dont hear ananta or kimi alot

[Natahlia]

I am writing lyrics in Japanese
I used kimi ^_^
Its easier to use two syllables depending on the number of syllables you want to use for each line.
Either way, its usually used by males/seniors.
About Omae, I find it a little rude.
But i guess thats just me.
I prefer to be referred to as "anata" or "kimi"
I use "anata" and "anta" or the person's name, whcih is most common.

[Rainey]

so many words! i thought is was just a matter of kimi and anata. my head hurts now. oh well ill probably still use anata instead of kimi with everyone anyway. it sounds very proper.

[Sai]

Japanese is a very interesting language in that you can't just learn to words and think you've got it, you've got to understand how they are used and applied in specific situations. Personally, I find that discovering and figuring out these stubtle differences in the language is half the fun.

[Harjeet Bhogal]

Yeah it does get pretty interesting. I find myself always learning something new everyday.