Question:
In Japanese, I've found out that when speaking to a person, you use their name more often than using a word that means 'you'. I'm wondering when to do that. My little cousin tried to say: anata wa baka desu. I knew that wasn't right.
Also I've heard that natives rarely say 'I' watashi wa, and will sometimes use their own name when referring to themselves. Please clear this up for me!
Answer:
You should probably avoid saying "omae" to anyone unless you're very close to that person. "Omae" is a pronoun generally used by men amongst men and the rudeness level goes up a notch if a girl says it.
There are many ways to speak of oneself and of others and every word reflects what kind of relationship you have to the one you're speaking to, which is probably why you're better off calling people by their name + the suffix -san if you have to be clear with whom you're speaking to.
As for referring to oneself, "watashi" is the most neutral way of doing so, but you don't have to do it repeatedly. Once or twice in the beginning of the conversation is enough to make clear that you're talking about yourself. If you're a girl you should probably stick with using "watashi" or "atashi" since "boku" and "ore" are generally used by men.
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