<p>He says &quot;いませんけど&quot;, so you are correct that it's the -<em>masen</em> ending since there isn't really anything else in that response anyway.</p>
<p>The reason this is odd is because of what Yaga says that Panda is responding to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>お前にはお兄ちゃんとお姉ちゃんがいるんだ。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>(You have an older brother and an older sister.)</p>
<p>If Yaga were speaking in the formal register he would've said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>あなたにはお兄ちゃんとお姉ちゃんがいます。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Or something similar to that. Basically, お前 is pretty informal and いる（んだ） is the short / casual form of &quot;to exist&quot;, so for Panda to respond in formally is strange.</p>
<p>The translated subtitle when I went to look for this scene had Yaga's response as &quot;And why the polite tone?&quot;.</p>
<p>So I believe this is just a translation error. There was no honorific but Panda responded in the polite register which prompted Yaga's confusion.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-13T13:58:44.783Z
2021-10-13T14:46:49.820Z
2021-10-13T14:46:49.820Z
hyperneutrino
<p>In <em>Jujutsu Kaisen</em>'s episode 16 &quot;Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event—Group Battle 2—&quot; (Transcription: Kyōto Shimai-kō Kōryū-kai—Dantai-sen ②—; Japanese: 京都姉 妹校交流会—団体戦②—), during a flashback scene explaining Panda's origin, we have the following conversation between Yaga Masamichi, principal of the Tokyo school and Panda's creator, and Panda as a toddler or &quot;preschooler&quot;:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Yaga:</strong> Panda. Actually, you have an older brother and sister.<br />
<strong>Panda:</strong> I don't.<br />
<strong>Yaga:</strong> No, you do. They are in your body. <em>&lt;mutters to self&gt;</em> What's with the honorific?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What exactly is the honorific that Panda uses here? I am somewhat aware that there is a hierarchy of formal speech in the Japanese language, but I'm not able to precisely identify what honorific is being used in the Japanese dub. Is it perhaps the <em>—⁠masen</em> ending used by Panda? Furthermore, what is unusual about Panda using that kind of speech with Yaga, prompting him to comment upon it?</p>

<japanese-language><jujutsu-kaisen>
What honorific does Panda use when speaking to Yaga Masamichi?
# What honorific does Panda use when speaking to Yaga Masamichi?
Posted by: username_0 on 2021-10-13
In *Jujutsu Kaisen*'s episode 16 "Kyoto Sister School Exchange Event—Group Battle 2—" (Transcription: Kyōto Shimai-kō Kōryū-kai—Dantai-sen ②—; Japanese: 京都姉 妹校交流会—団体戦②—), during a flashback scene explaining Panda's origin, we have the following conversation between Yaga Masamichi, principal of the Tokyo school and Panda's creator, and Panda as a toddler or "preschooler":

> **Yaga:** Panda. Actually, you have an older brother and sister.  
> **Panda:** I don't.  
> **Yaga:** No, you do. They are in your body.  What's with the honorific?

What exactly is the honorific that Panda uses here? I am somewhat aware that there is a hierarchy of formal speech in the Japanese language, but I'm not able to precisely identify what honorific is being used in the Japanese dub. Is it perhaps the *—⁠masen* ending used by Panda? Furthermore, what is unusual about Panda using that kind of speech with Yaga, prompting him to comment upon it?
**Tags:** japanese-language jujutsu-kaisen
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## 1 answers
### Answer by username_1 on 2021-10-13. Score: 4 | Accepted answer
He says "いませんけど", so you are correct that it's the -*masen* ending since there isn't really anything else in that response anyway.

The reason this is odd is because of what Yaga says that Panda is responding to:

> お前にはお兄ちゃんとお姉ちゃんがいるんだ。

(You have an older brother and an older sister.)

If Yaga were speaking in the formal register he would've said:

> あなたにはお兄ちゃんとお姉ちゃんがいます。

Or something similar to that. Basically, お前 is pretty informal and いる（んだ） is the short / casual form of "to exist", so for Panda to respond in formally is strange.

The translated subtitle when I went to look for this scene had Yaga's response as "And why the polite tone?".

So I believe this is just a translation error. There was no honorific but Panda responded in the polite register which prompted Yaga's confusion.
---
