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わたし. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
わたし, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
わたし in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
わたし you have here. The definition of the word
わたし will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
わたし, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Japanese
Pronunciation
Pronoun
わたし • (watashi)
- 私: I; first person pronoun
See also
Japanese first-person pronouns
Japanese first-person pronouns by speakers and situations according to Yuko Saegusa, Concerning the First Personal Pronoun of Native Japanese Speakers (2009)
First-person pronouns by elementary school pupils (2008)
Speaker |
Situation |
1 |
2 |
3
|
Female
|
To friends
|
うち (uchi) 49% |
First name 26% |
あたし (atashi) 15%
|
In the family
|
First name 33% |
あたし (atashi) 29% |
うち (uchi) 23%
|
In a class
|
わたし (watashi) 86% |
あたし (atashi) 7% |
うち (uchi) 6%
|
To an unknown visitor
|
わたし (watashi) 75% |
あたし (atashi), first name, うち (uchi) 8% each
|
To the class teacher
|
わたし (watashi) 66% |
First name 13% |
あたし (atashi) 9%
|
Male
|
To friends
|
おれ (ore) 72% |
ぼく (boku) 19% |
First name 4%
|
In the family
|
おれ (ore) 62% |
ぼく (boku) 23% |
うち (uchi) 6%
|
In a class
|
ぼく (boku) 85% |
おれ (ore) 13% |
First name, nickname 1% each
|
To an unknown visitor
|
ぼく (boku) 64% |
おれ (ore) 26% |
First name 4%
|
To the class teacher
|
ぼく (boku) 67% |
おれ (ore) 27% |
First name 3%
|
First-person pronouns by university students (2009)
Speaker |
Situation |
1 |
2 |
3
|
Female
|
To friends
|
うち (uchi) 39% |
あたし (atashi) 30% |
わたし (watashi) 22%
|
In the family
|
あたし (atashi) 28% |
First name 27% |
うち (uchi) 18%
|
In a class
|
わたし (watashi) 89% |
あたし (atashi) 7% |
自分 (jibun) 3%
|
To an unknown visitor
|
わたし (watashi) 81% |
あたし (atashi) 10% |
自分 (jibun) 6%
|
To the class teacher
|
わたし (watashi) 77% |
あたし (atashi) 17% |
自分 (jibun) 7%
|
Male
|
To friends
|
おれ (ore) 87% |
うち (uchi) 4% |
わたし (watashi), 自分 (jibun) 2% each
|
In the family
|
おれ (ore) 88% |
ぼく (boku), 自分 (jibun) 5% each
|
In a class
|
わたし (watashi) 48% |
自分 (jibun) 28% |
ぼく (boku) 22%
|
To an unknown visitor
|
ぼく (boku) 36% |
自分 (jibun) 29% |
わたし (watashi) 22%
|
To the class teacher
|
自分 (jibun) 38% |
ぼく (boku) 29% |
わたし (watashi) 22%
|