Different Ways of Saying “Me, Myself, and I” in Japanese

Japanese language can be so hard to grasp – including the many possible ways you can call yourself, “I”.

(source: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/japanese-first-person-pronouns/)

But don’t worry — I have below a list of all the possible ways of saying “me, myself, and I” to make your life a little easier (I might not be covering all, but here is a list of some of the most common phrases):

私（わたし）= wa-ta-shi

私（わたくし）= wa-ta-ku-shi

僕（ぼく）= boh-koo

俺（おれ）= oh-reh

自分（じぶん）= ji-boon

ウチ（うち）= oo-chi

わし = wa-shi

Confused already?

Don’t worry. Once you break it down it won’t be as difficult, I promise!

私（わたし）= wa-ta-shi

This is the most common way of saying “I” in the Japanese language; it is supposed to be gender-neutral, but is typically and most commonly used among women.

私（わたくし）= wa-ta-ku-shi

This is the formal way of addressing yourself and is completely gender-neutral. This form of pronoun is usually used in business settings.

僕（ぼく）= boh-koo

This is how boys address themselves, and is only for boys.

俺（おれ）= oh-reh

This form of “I” can be used interchangeably with the previous “僕（ぼく）= boh-koo” form, since this is again, only used among boys/men. This form of “I”, however, is used most commonly among young (male) adults, and not much among young boys and elders.

自分（じぶん）= ji-boon

This word literally translates to “myself”, and is gender-neutral — some Japanese people use this word to address themselves, although rarely. You’ll hear it more in the Kansai area (Western Japan centering Osaka).

ウチ（うち）= oo-chi

This form of “I” is again, heard most often in the Kansai area, and is used among girls/women. I would avoid using this form of “I”, however, because it really isn’t the politest way to address yourself to others. It is, however, still good to know it exists.

わし= wa-shi

This is how my grandfather used to address himself - it is a common form of “I” among elderly male. Again, I would not use this form of pronoun because it’s uncommon, but it does not hurt to know that it exists.

(source: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/japanese-first-person-pronouns/)

And here it is. I hope you have a better understanding of the differences between the many possible ways of saying “I”. Now, according to your gender and your age/generation, you can use one form from any of the pronouns listed above whenever you converse in Japanese!