Tag: illeist

Illeism is the act of referring to oneself in the third person instead of first person.

Young children in Japan commonly refer to themselves by their own name. Though as they grow older, they normally switch over to using first-person references. For grownups, illeism is often considered childish or cute. On the other hand, it can come off as self-centered and conceited, especially for villainous characters.

Historically, samurai referred to themselves in the third person when talking to superiors, as a sign of humility.