The many ways to say "I" in Japanese (2024)

Nov

2009

One of the many unique and intriguing features of Japanese is the vast selection of words you have available to choose from when you want to say “I.” Each of these words has a different connotation reflecting the speaker’s view of his/herself and their relationship to the listener.

For this article, I’m going to introduce to you my personal collection of “I” words that I’ve encountered here in Japan (even if I’ve only seen them once or twice in obscure contexts). Hopefully, this list will help to prepare you for your own Japanese adventures.

Common forms

Of the many ways to say “I” in Japanese, these are the ones that are actually used by real, living people who are being serious.

Watashi

Watashi (私) is the standard, gender-free way to say “I” and is the first one learners are introduced to. If you don’t know which I-word to use, this is your best bet.

The only trap I know of is that in Japanese saying “watashi mo” (meaning: “me too”) can come off as very effeminate if you use it in an informal situation. Men should take care to say “boku mo” or use some other I-word instead.

Watakushi

Yes, the kanji is the same as for watashi (私) (watashi is actually just a shortened form of watakushi).

This word is a highly formal “I.” You might hear politicians, CEOs, or other public-relations figures use it when making official announcements, but generally you should avoid this word as it can come across as arrogant or condescending.

If you watch anime or read manga, you’ll notice that this is the I-word of choice for rich characters.

Boku

Boku (僕) is what you could think of as the “soft-masculine” I-word. It literally means “manservant” so when you use it there is a sense that you are humbling yourself before the speaker.

It has a more informal feeling than watashi, however, so you may want to be careful when using it with strangers, authority figures and colleagues.

Boku is used primarily by men, but very young and/or boyish girls sometimes use it too. I’ve also heard women use boku in song lyrics.

Light says boku (friendly/humble). L says watashi (polite/formal).

Ore

If boku is the “soft-masculine” I-word then ore (俺) is the “hard-masculine.” This is the word tough guys use, and as such you would almost never hear it used with a polite verb form.

It’s not polite by any stretch of the imagination, but to say it’s a “rude” word would be a mistake as well. Ore can actually convey a sense of intimacy (we’re close friends, so I don’t need to worry about being polite with you). This is probably the most common I-word among groups of men (except in business or other formal settings).

Eikichi Onizuka, a character perfectly suited to saying ore.

Atashi

This is an informal effeminate form of watashi. It has a kind of “cute” nuance to it. Because kanji are generally seen as masculine, this word has no kanji form. It is written in either hiragana or katakana. (Well, the word does come from watashi so you might see it listed with 私 in a dictionary)

Uchi

Uchi (内) is one word for “I” that I didn’t learn until well after I came to Japan, but once I did I was surprised at how commonly used it was. It literally means “inside.”

Saying uchi for “I” is informal and has no gender connotation. This is a good word for women to use if they want to be informal, but avoid the cuteness of atashi.

Kochira/Kocchi

This is another popular and versatile way to say “I.” It literally means “this way.”

While kochira and kocchi are the same word (kocchi is an abbreviated version), they differ pretty dramatically in how formal they are. Kochira is highly polite and is often used in business situations, especially one the phone. Because of it’s root meaning of “this way” it is ambiguous in number, it can be used to mean “we” without any changes to the word.

Kocchi is much more informal and frequently used among friends. It’s also handy for its neutrality, meaning that when you use it you’re not making a statement about your social position relative to the listener (you are–however–still making a statement about social distance).

Note: similarly, you can use sochira/socchi to mean “you.”

Ware

Used more commonly in it’s “we” form (我々/wareware), ware (我) by itself and meaning just “I” is pretty uncommon, but not unheard of.

It’s also probably the the most difficult I-word in this post because depending on how you use it it can come out not only as “I” but either as “one’s self” (not necessarily the speaker), or even “you” (although usage as “you” is very dated).

My impression of this word is it has a kind of wise, sage-like feeling to it. It’s almost always used in a short, declarative statement of some kind.

Washi

This is yet a further shortening of the word watashi. It is reserved for use by old men or men who for some reason have acquired a very slurred speech style. Perhaps they dropped the ta to keep themselves from spitting on people when they talked.

In the Kansai region, this I-word can be further shortened to just wai.

Personal name

While we don’t do this in English, in Japanese it’s possible to use your own personal name when saying “I.” Basically, you can speak in third person perspective. This manner of speaking is somewhat frowned upon as being childish, however, so be careful should you decide to use it. (it’s probably best if you simply don’t use this method altogether, just know that you might hear somebody else talking like this someday)

Special forms

Be careful, because this second group of I-words are no longer used in modern Japanese (though Japanese know them through media and literature), and as such they will definitely alert your listener that you are consciously selecting your I word, usually either as a joke or to imitate some character. While they’re fun to know, don’t use these under regular circ*mstances.

Wagahai

Bowser (or as he is known in Japanese, クッパ/kuppa) says wagahai.

Wagahai (吾輩) is a classical way to say “I” that was used by older men of high social stature. You will find this in the title of Natsume Soseki’s famous work, 吾輩は猫である (wagahai wa neko de aru / I am a cat).

Oira

Oira (おいら) is an alternate form of ore which was more widely used back in the Edo period. It was apparently used even by some women in the late-Edo period.

Today, this word has a youthful and male feeling to it (because of it’s youthful nature, it is rarely written in it’s kanji form: 己等), and is the I-word of choice for… housepets! (as spoken through their owners, of course…) Try a quick google image search for this word, it will bring up many pictures of Japanese peoples’ pets.

Sessha

Sessha (拙者) is another classical way to a say “I” which literally means “clumsy person.” Samurai used this word, because being humble about their abilities was the samurai thing to do.

Atai

The word atai is a girls-only “I” word that is a shortened version of atashi. It originated with the courtesans, prostitutes and young girls from Tokyo’s pleasure quarters, but it seems that most people are unfamiliar with this history.

I believe there are some dialects and regions in Japan where this word can still be heard but I’m not sure exactly where… One of my Japanese friends that I asked said it sounded like a Kyuushuu dialect.

Yo

Yo (余) is yet another rarely used classical way to say “I.” It was used by men of extremely high stature. I’ve really only come across it being employed by “heartless-overlord”-type characters in some anime and manga.

Warawa

Warawa (妾) is how a samurai’s wife would say “I.” It’s a classical female form, used by women to humble themselves before others. The kanji itself refers to a man’s non-primary wife or his mistress.

Conclusion

It’s both an intriguing and challenging aspect of Japanese to have so many options where in English we have only one. By learning to pay close attention to these words, we can pick up on valuable clues about a person’s social status and personality. And by learning to use the right I-words for each situation and partner, we can communicate with people and manage relationships more effectively.

(Unlike video game and anime characters) most people switch between a few different words as their situation demands. Personally, most of the time I stick to boku and watashi (I’ve been trying to use ore more with my guy friends lately, but old habits die hard). Sometimes I mix things up with a little uchi and kocchi, too.

This list is complete to the best of my knowledge (assuming I haven’t forgotten anything…), but I’m sure there’s probably a few more I-words floating around out there that I haven’t come across yet. I’ll be sure to update this list if I find any new ones.

41 Responses

Nice post. There sure are a bunch of ways to say “I”. HOw about “you”? Might be more…

by: Billy, Nov 29th at 12:13 pm
See Also
Anata wa meaning and why it sounds weird to the Japanese 100 Ways To Say "I" In Japanese - Japanese Level Up
I heard that there is “ora” – a “redneck” way to say “I”.
(I heard it in one anime (I don’t remember which) where a talking grass spoke that way.)

by: Baka, Dec 8th at 7:04 am
@ Billy : Yeah, I might do something on “you” although I don’t think it’ll be as straightforward as “I”. Might also have to cover name suffixes and stuff like that…
@ Baka : Sounds like a possible variant of “ore” or “oira”, or a contraction of “ore wa” perhaps. I’d need to hear it myself to say for sure.

by: Lloyd Vincent, Dec 9th at 7:10 am
Let’s not forget “jibun”.

by: Svamp, Mar 24th at 2:59 pm
“jibun” is actually “(one’s) self” and it cannot always be interchanged with I (it’s different grammatically). Also, it doesn’t automatically refer to the speaker.

by: Lloyd Vincent, Apr 1st at 7:50 am
Hi, yours is a great blog! =D how is jibun used? new to learning japanese..downloaded your japanese cheat sheet..does nihonshock have paypal? Thanks again for the great website!! ^^

by: 月青, Apr 18th at 10:48 pm
hi, is it appropriate for anyone to use 内 to refer to oneself? or mainly housewives use it? anyone can use kocchi?

by: yuetching, May 26th at 12:37 pm
@月青: “jibun” is basically equivalent to “myself/yourself” in English. It’s usually used with the particle で.
@yuetching: I’ve heard both men and women of varying ages use 内, though it is probably more frequently used by women. Age or marital status isn’t a factor, I would say.
Anyone can say こっち, but just remember that it’s quite informal.
@Baka: I also noticed recently, Son Goku from Dragonball says おら.

by: Lloyd Vincent, May 27th at 6:53 pm
I’ve heard a few times on anime/manga “oresama” being used for characters who are extremely immodest and full of themselves (such as Black Star from Soul Eater).
Also, I thought that “uchi” is more of a kansai dialect and heard it primarily used by my female friends while I was living in Osaka (I was there for a year for a student exchange). So is it true that “uchi” is used elsewhere in Japan, too?

by: abari, Jun 1st at 7:57 am
I come back to this article every now and again just to quickly refresh my memory.
However, one devoted to “you” pronouns would be awesome too.

by: Daniel, Jul 23rd at 3:04 am
What about are wa for females?

by: Kenya, Sep 27th at 6:37 pm
a post about diffrent suffixs would be awsome (-chan -sama -san. . )

by: missy, Nov 13th at 2:09 pm
What about saying “waga” I think I heard Hyourinmaru from the anime BLEACH say it

by: Haru, Nov 25th at 3:22 pm
@abari : You may be right about “uchi”. However, my boss (middle aged Japanese man) uses it in business conversations meaning “we” or “our company”.
@Haru : “waga” (我が) is grammatically different from “I”. It’s a possessive form, so it’s equivalent to “my”.
(Note: as with ware/我, it’s not limited to “my” but could also be “yours” or “one’s”)

by: Lloyd Vincent, Nov 25th at 5:32 pm
内 (uchi) is associated with being a tough girl or a tomboy or just the female 俺 in Southern Japan — so Kansai, Kyoto, Nara area, and on down to Shikoku, &c. Also わし (washi) can use the kanji 私 but it also has its own kanji 儂, though it isn’t exactly common use. Just thought I’d share some of what I’ve learned during some of my time in Japan ^_^ Lastly, 吾 is also わが (waga) and typically used to mean the possessive, but on rare occasions (period movies, manga, anime) it crops up as I; Bleach is notorious for its crazy and often very old-fashioned/ancient speech patterns, particular to each individual character, so not surprising to see it there. In bizarre, manga only situations, people do refer to themselves in a sorta 3rd-person with 自分 (jibun); it happens, but everyone will most likely assume you’re in error if you try to use it, unless you speak some pretty glorious dialectical Japanese already.

by: MKatch, Dec 16th at 4:28 pm
Hahaha! I found a really good example of different ways to say “I” in Pandora Hearts episode 20 when Gil gets drunk and doesn’t know what to call himself. He tries “boku” and “ore” not knowing if he’s a kid or and adult and then Break goes on with about ten more.

by: Sophie, Feb 12th at 11:55 am
There’s also 拙僧 (sessou) for Buddhist monks, and 朕 (chin) for all of you Japanese emperors out there. Useful, huh?

by: Tycho, Feb 21st at 10:01 am
Also see http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/日本語の一人称代名詞; the related articles section also has one for ‘you’.

by: Tycho, Feb 21st at 11:10 am
Nice list. Thanks! Ah yes. Sessha. Im used to hearing that cause I watch so much Rurouni Kenshin. =)

by: Jocelyn, Apr 3rd at 2:15 am
“自分” can in fact be used as “I,” although it doesn’t happen frequently. It can be seen in Japanese club (部活) settings, though other places as well.

by: 安堵龍, Apr 27th at 2:14 pm
hello

by: kayla, Aug 12th at 12:52 am
i am a girl what r u

by: Anonymous, Aug 12th at 12:53 am
i am a cat

by: Anonymous, Sep 17th at 4:05 pm
So is “kocchi” the best thing for a guy to use with his female friends? And what about significant others? I’m thinking “boku” might be appropriate for the guy…thoughts?

by: AJ, Sep 29th at 1:12 pm
atai is mainly used by cirno.

by: Anonymous, Dec 17th at 2:54 pm
What about “na”? I have heard na as “I” when with one’s family or friends. Though, I wouldn’t suppose it is very common, nor very formal.

by: NyaN, Mar 29th at 4:57 am
In a manga I recently read, ora and oira were used FAR more than any other form of “I”
And they were written with Katakana, too

by: Ramune, May 9th at 9:20 am
吾輩は猫である! <—- ネコ from [K] project
she said that in the anime xD

by: Aozumi, Jan 10th at 12:02 pm
How about 予？　I found out yesterday that this can also mean “I”, but I wasn’t sure how it’s used. I mean I’m guessing it’s pretty archaic..

by: Kim, May 21st at 7:16 am
watashi wa is the easiest one I can remember when listening to people say “I” xD
thank you for this awesome article!!

by: rainy, Jul 4th at 10:31 am
jibun（自分）is actually used for the meaning of “I” in current Japan..not so common as boku or ore though.
Especially young men use it.
However, I have a negative impression on those who use”jibun” I feel like they are a computer nerd or online gamer.
Ex:　自分はその武器は使いませんね
(I wouldn’t use that weapon) like when chatting on online game
I’m pretty sure of this bc I’m Japanese.

by: Naoya, Jan 31st at 12:43 pm
自分（jibun) can also mean “you” in some cases. Example: で、自分どうすんの？＝ so, what are you gonna do?

by: Tommy, Feb 6th at 10:28 pm
I believe uchi (内) when used as a pronoun for “I” is primarly feminine Kansai dialect (or so I was told by my friend from Kyouto), but it can be used generally (not just Kansai-ben) to refer to one’s company/school/house/family/etc. without that connotation, I think.

by: K9T, Mar 13th at 3:31 pm
From what I’ve seen, jibun is usually used when you’re talking in a context of “I myself”. So in your example, Tommy, it would make perfect sense (“I myself wouldn’t use that weapon”).

by: DaVince, Jun 14th at 5:20 pm
Please clearly outline the difference between 内　and こっち. I’m a bit lost

by: Anonymous, Oct 11th at 8:10 am
The list is no way complete.
Some has been mentioned already like, chin, wa, yo, washi, ora and jibun. They are not necessarily common use but all used as “I.”
Others includes (but not limited to) oidon, atai, wah, bokuchan, touhou, honkan, soregashi, gusei, watakushime, shousei, and temae.

by: Japanese Citizen #101, Jan 15th at 12:30 pm
Uchi actually is gender specific. While I’ve heard a very masculine and “tough” girl say “ore” and some effeminate gay men say “atashi” I’ve never ever heard any male person say “uchi” as a personal pronoun.
You must be confusing it with the meaning “our store/company/restaurant/etc.”. When men use “uchi” it always is used in the sense “our place”, “how we do it here”, “our policy” etc.
Uchi is used as a personal pronoun in the Kinki region by women. It’s kind of cute way of talking and is more commonly used by girls and younger women but is not unheard of for older women either.
Atai is nowadays by very “tough”, rebellious women, always rare but fallen even more out of fashion since the 80’s or early 90’s.
I know someone who uses “jibun” just like any “boku” or “watashi”. For that and other reasons there’s no one really who doesn’t think him weird. It sounds strange used like that, except maybe in military context.

by: mikio, Mar 22nd at 5:44 am
This is an old post, but it is great. 内uchi　actually has a place in the Kangxi Dictionary, used by married men to refer to his 妻 or 妾. And because these 妻 or 妾s are always ‘inside’ their house, as the norm asks them to, they got the name ‘内’, which means ‘inside’ as well. I think this origin is enough to persuade me not to use it to say “I” as a man.

by: alan, Jun 21st at 7:16 am
I heard “uchi” in Non non biyori. I have the japanese subtitles, and this uses hiragana. The translators don’t understand uchi as “I”, but only as “home”. I was luck that I have a good and old printeddictionary.

by: juca, Jun 26th at 1:46 pm
Half of these words aren’t even used!
Another foreigner being a spokesperson for Japan!

by: Akinyele Brandley, Jan 17th at 12:10 pm
“atai” is often shortened, like when people ask each other out. It’s often said as “suki ate kudasai” directly translating to “Love me please”
Note: men always seem to use it this way when asking girls out

by: Jordan, Sep 23rd at 7:42 am