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Compound of あ(a, distal pronoun marker, indicating something far away from both speaker and listener; also found in あれ(are, “that”, far away), あそこ(asoko, “there”, far away), etc.) + な(na, possessive, ancient compounding alternative for particle の(no)) + た(ta, “direction, side, place”, only found in ancient terms).[1]
The you and thatperson senses only ever have pitch accent (nakadaka). The thatdirection or side sense may have either pitch accent, with pitch accent (atamadaka) more common.
“Hi ga deru deshō. sore kara hi ga shizumu deshō. Sore kara mata deru deshō, sōshite mata shizumu deshō.――Akai hi ga higashi kara nishi e, higashi kara nishi e to ochiteiku uchi ni,――Anata, matteiraremasu ka”
"The sun will rise, yes? And then the sun will set, yes? And then it will rise again, and it will set again, yes? —While the red sun falls, from east to west, from east to west —Would you be able to wait it out?"
Ojushūsu tōki anata ni horobitari, nanji mo kare to morotomo ni shiseba yokarishi!
Odysseus has perished in a far off land—if only you had died with him!
Usage notes
The you sense is spelled most often in hiragana in modern usage. The 貴方 spelling is gender-neutral. Alternative spellings include 貴女 when referring to females and 貴男 when referring to males.
あなた(anata) is the most neutral second-person singular pronoun. If names or titles are known, these are used more commonly when addressing people.