第一人称 – What should I call myself in Japanese?
Talking about your self in Japanese can be tricky. Depending on who you are with and how you want to be seen you have several choices. English gives us only one way to say ‘I’. Compared to all the ways you can refer to yourself in Japanese, this maybe boring. But, having one way to say I eliminates all the complications. The following is nowhere close to the number of ways to say ‘I’ in Japanese but is the essential words you need to know and when you should use them.
INDEX
わたし
私 is the most common way to refer to one’s self. It is the preferred word in most formal situations. But it is used outside of formal situations. For males, it is more common though to say ぼく or おれ for informal situations.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/わたくし
わたし is abbreviated from わたくし (Also written as 私 in Kanji). わたくし is used by males and a little more formal than わたし. Generally, outside of formal situations, no one would use it. In fact, some people may hear it as too stiff.
あたし
あたし is an abbreviated form of わたし many females use in informal situations. Some people do still prefer わたし to あたし though.
ぼく
僕 is an alternative to わたし for males. People say it in formal situations and some prefer it in informal situations also. 僕 is less formal than わたし though. So you may see people say 僕 in situations where they are with superiors that they know or have a relatively closer relationship with. For male students 僕 is the preferred word when talking with teachers or other adults. Possible for this reason it has a slight childlike nuance to it but older people will still use it.
おれ
俺 is another informal word males use and is probably the most common in standard Japanese. In informal situations, it is usually fine but some prefer 僕 as it sound more dignified. Also, if you use it in a formal situation it is rude and people may call you out on it. Finally a side note, おれさま is mostly just a word used to emphasis arrogant characters in Anime and Manga.
Conclusion
There is not a single consensus on how you should refer to yourself. An individual will have their own opinions on what they want to use for them-self or what they want others to use. If you want to avoid all the complexities then わたし for any situation would be the safest choice. There are still other ways to refer to yourself but this post should give you the basic knowledge for most situations. In the end, it is your choice to experiment. Good Luck!
If you want to know how to say ‘You’ in Japanese it is just as complicated as saying ‘I’. I have a whole post on it in Here.
If you are interested in learning even more, I have reviewed what I consider the best resource for Japanese Grammar below:
Resources
