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I've been seeing `やつ` used for "thing" reasonably frequently in Manga/online
etc, for example:

> ほとんどは本とか食玩とか細かいやつかな。  
>  "It's virtually all stuff like books, those small toys sold with food and
> small things I suppose."
>
> 富士を目指しましょう。地方富士というやつよ。  
>  "Let's set our sights on Fuji. The thing that's called 'the local Fuji.'"
>
> 「正直がいちばん」というやつだ。  
>  "Honesty is the best policy"

But what kind of a nuance does `やつ` have and when can it be used compared with
`物` and `こと`? (I'm guessing it might be colloquial, sometimes joking, and
possibly sometimes derogatory but I'm not really sure).

Is there any way to translate this usage of `やつ` into English without losing
too much of the original nuance?
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2012-07-06T11:52:25.797
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2012-07-06T23:59:04.857
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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question
word-choice usage translation nuances
What kind of a thing is a "やつ"?
やつ is used as a head noun modified by a relative clause or an appositive
clause. My guess is that it can be used only when the referent is what is
technically called _d(iscourse)-linked_ , or the set of possible choices is
(assumed to be) established within the context. The interest is setting the
choice from a given set rather than introducing a new entity to the context.

For example, 細いやつ presupposes that the set of things under consideration is
established in the context. Among them, there is/are thing(s) that can be
categorized as 細い. What 細いやつ is doing is not introducing an entirely new
entity into the context but is picking one from the set of possibilities
established in the context.

> A: 君はどんな麺が好きなの。  
>  'What **kind** of noodle/ **which** noodle do you like?'  
>  B: 僕は細いやつが好きだ。  
>  'I like the thin ones'.

As you can see above, when there is a relevant wh-question proceeding it in
English, the wh-expressions `what kind of ...`, `which ...`, can be used
instead of `what`, `where`, `who`. A good English translation for `...やつ`
would be `the ... one(s)`.

It has a rough nuance compared to the alternative `の`, and a conservative
person may not expect it to be used by a female. This is probably connected to
the fact that another usage of やつ is an impolite third person pronoun.
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2012-07-06T12:35:52.170
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2012-07-06T13:10:03.220
2012-07-06T13:10:03.220
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answer