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With regard to talking about one's " _personality_ ", such as one being out-
going, stoic, cold, not trustworthy, etc. I've always said " **人柄{ひとがら}** ".
And, the natives seem to basically understand what I mean.

  1. With regard to how it sounds, are " **性格{せいかく}** " and " **人物{じんぶつ}** " both really formal to use in a conversation? 
  2. What are a few contexts where "人柄" is not understandable / very inappropriate, and "性格" and/or "人物" must be used?
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2015-09-09T17:38:35.860
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2015-09-11T03:10:11.877
10547
question
word-choice
"人物" vs. "性格" vs. "人柄"?
**性格**

The bottom line of this word is "temperament", "disposition". And this one is
**the most common word** to describe a person's personality. It translates
"character" in psychological terms, and also used for a thing's
characteristics.

**人柄**

A word mostly for one's interpersonal character. But effectively, it's almost
always used to tell what kind of **virtue** whoever has, thus **not much
compatible with bad evaluation**. For example, 人柄が冷たい (="has cold character"?)
only had [7 hits in
Google.jp](https://www.google.co.jp/search?hl=ja&q=%22%E4%BA%BA%E6%9F%84%E3%81%8C%E5%86%B7%E3%81%9F%E3%81%84%22).
We could say 人柄が良くない, but 人柄が悪い sounds a little stiff if not wrong.

**人物**

This one is more like _person_ (respectable figure, someone important) or
_identity_ , rather than _personality_. But it can be used as a more formal
alternative to 人柄, as well. On this point the usage is similar to 人柄. The word
also translates "character" in drama, so 悪い人物 is likely to be _baddie_.

* * *

**BONUS**

**人格{じんかく}** : persona, "personality" in psychology as in 多重人格 "multiple
personality".

**個性{こせい}** : personality, individuality; but since Japanese culture doesn't
praise being special, this word sometimes means "eccentricity".

**性向{せいこう}** : (behavioral) tendency, propensity.

**根性{こんじょう}** : ( _old-fashioned and/or slangy_ ) habitualized attitude,
innate or acquired. Also means "guts" or "patience" by its own.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-11T03:04:14.117
27946
2015-09-11T03:10:11.877
2015-09-11T03:10:11.877
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answer