May 2, 2012

The Different Ways to Say "I" in Japanese

How do you say "I" in your language?

In English, it's simply, "I".

In Chinese, it's 我 (wo).

In Japanese, mm.. there are a few... so which are you referring to?

Today, I would share with on the different ways to refer to "I" in Japanese. This has always intrigued me, since I started learning Japanese. :)

Most common of all is 私 (watashi わたし)
This is most commonly use in textbooks, conversation, and perhaps, I would say, it forms the baseline. The neutral form of referring to "I".

The reason why there are different ways to refer to "I" is because the level of politeness differ. That then depends on how close the relationship between the speaker and the listener is, the context (situation, for eg is it in a business scenario, speech scenario, etc). And 私 is the neutral one, it's polite, yet not too polite. Hence it is also the first "I" form that new learners encounter in their Japanese textbook.

Through anime and drama, you would probably encounter the following forms of "I":

あたし (atashi)
Reserved only for female speakers. It has a cute (kawaii) nuance to it.

うち
I haven't really encounter this in anime or drama, but heard my students (in Japan, while I was on JET) using this to refer to themselves. This is again usually used by female speakers, usually by girls (before marriageable age), as shared by my Japanese colleague when I asked her about it.

僕 (boku ぼく)
Reserved only for male speakers (usually). This is a less polite way of referring to "I". Only used when the relationship between the speaker and the listener is close, or when the speaker is superior to the listener. (superiority here means in rank - for eg. at work, seniority -for eg. age, family: elder brother to younger sister)

わし
Usually used by old men.

俺 (ore おれ)
Reserved for male speakers only. This is even more less polite way of referring to "I". Again, only when the relationship between the speaker and the listener is close, or when the speaker is superior to the listener.

俺様 (oresama おれさま)
Probably the most impolite way of referring to "I". This form is used when the speaker is trying to impress upon the listener that he is superior to him, and hence implying that he should take his consequent advice.

On the other spectrum, we have the more polite form:

わたくし (wata kushi)
This is a very polite form, used for formal situations, eg. business meeting, speeches, etc. And it is for all speakers, regardless of gender.


How about referring to "we"?

私たち (watashi tachi わたしたち)
Again like 私, 私たち is the baseline/ neutral form of referring to "we".

われわれ (ware ware)
This is the more polite and formal form, which is often used in business, speech, etc situations.

Interested to find out other uncommon forms of referring to "I"? Check out Nihonshock's blogpost.

And by the way, this treatment is not exclusive to "I", there are different forms for "you", too. :P

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