First person representation

In the previous article, we studied about how we say the time of the day.
  Time of the day 2 >>



In this article, let's study how to say 'I' in Japanese!


I will talk about three ways to say 'I' in this article.

   1. わたし
   2. ぼく
   3. せっしゃ

(#3 is not important at all. hehe)




1. わたし（私）

The most basic way to say "I" is:

      'わたし (wa ta shi)'


Perhaps, you have already known 'わたし' because this is very basic Japanese.

Example:

わ

た

し

は

に

ん

じゃ

で

す

。

wa

ta

shi

wa

ni

n

ja

de

su

     Meaning :  "I am a Ninja."

     

							わたし (watashi)	：	I
							にんじゃ (ninja)	：	Ninja
							です (desu)	：	am

If you can't understand why 'は' makes the sound 'wa' instead of 'ha', please check the particle below:

  ～は(wa) >>

If you want to know about 'です(desu)', please check this:
  です(desu) and ます(masu) >>

When you go to Japan, if a police man talk to you on the street, and he is saying something to you in Japanese, you can reply with this sentence to him...

  　  'わたし は にんじゃ です。'

Probably, he will understand that you can't say detailed information about yourself because you are doing a secret mission.

Then, he will let you go.

A more polite way to say 'わたし' is 'わたくし'.

Actually, 'わたし' is already polite.

However, you can use 'わたくし' when you want to speak very politely, like when you speak with your clients.

In English, the word 'I' can change to 'my', 'me', or 'mine'.

However, in Japanese, we always use 'わたし', and the words right after 'わたし' change.

English	Japanese	Romaji
I	わたしは	watashi wa
my	わたしの	watashi no
me	わたしに or わたしを	watashi ni or watashi wo
mine	わたしのもの	watashi no mono

If you don't know what Romaji is, please check the article below:
  Romaji >>

If you want to know about "の" of "わたしの", please check this:
  Particle "の" >>

Examples:

1.

わ

た

し

の

な

ま

え

は

さ

す

け

で

す

。

wa

ta

shi

no

na

ma

e

wa

sa

su

ke

de

su

     Meaning :  "My name is Sasuke."

     

なまえ

：

name

2.

わ

た

し

に

お

し

え

て

く

だ

さ

い

。

wa

ta

shi

ni

o

shi

e

te

ku

da

sa

i

     Meaning :  "Please teach me."

     

							ください	：	please
							おしえて or おしえる	：	teach

3.

わ

た

し

を

あ

い

し

て

く

だ

さ

い

。

wa

ta

shi

wo

a

i

shi

te

ku

da

sa

i

     Meaning :  "Please love me."

     

							ください	：	please
							あいして or あいする	：	love

4.

そ

れ

は

わ

た

し

の

も

の

で

す

。

so

re

wa

wa

ta

shi

no

mo

no

de

su

     Meaning :  "It is mine."

     

							それ	：	it
							です	：	is

'わたし' can be used by both male and female.

However, there is a way to say 'I' only for boys and men.

2. ぼく（僕）

Normally, 'ぼく (bo ku)' is only used by male.

But, actually, it doesn't sounds so polite.

Also, 'ぼく' sounds a little childish.

If you are a male, and want to talk friendly, you can use 'ぼく'.

However, I think 'わたし' is the safest thing to say at first because it sounds polite.

Just same as 'わたし', 'ぼく' can also change to 'ぼくの', 'ぼくに', 'ぼくを', or 'ぼくのもの'.

3. せっしゃ（拙者）

If you have ever watched Japanese anime, perhaps you have heard 'せっしゃ (sessha)'.

Only Samurais or Ninjas use this word.

If you want to be a Ninja, please use 'せっしゃ' instead of 'わたし'.

Maybe, Japanese people will love you.

(I am sorry for teaching unuseful word! hehe)

OK!

In this article, you remembered 'せっしゃ は にんじゃ です。'

(I am a Ninja.)

I hope this article helps you study Japanese!

Thank you for reading!

Related articles:

    です(desu) and ます(masu) >>

    Particle "は (wa)" >>

    Hiragana chart >>

    Hiragana quiz >>

    Katakana chart >>

    Katakana quiz >>