Teach Me Japanese ~ #2

Hello everyone! Sorry for the disappearance. I had a rough week at College.

Thank you for sticking with me so far!

We are going to be learning a bit of Japanese now. So, without further ado, the second installment of Teach Me Japanese!


TODAY'S WORD IS...

私

Such a short word right??

But very important!

How to read it: Watashi (wa-tah-shee)

Meaning: "I", alternatively (and in seldom occasions), "me".

Yup, this is the first person pronoun in Japanese. "Watashi wa Abigail" means "I am Abigail". Seems simple enough, right? Most people starting to learn Japanese know this word.

Key point: be very careful of what personal pronoun you use. In Japanese, "watashi" isn't the only way of saying "I", but it's the most universal. Boy or girl, woman or men may use it. It's widely accepted for formal and informal usage, too. It plays a very important life of business life, as well - in a working environment, referring to yourself as "watashi" is the polite way to go.

However!! There are other pronouns you may want to use or avoid.

僕 (boku): a male pronoun. Used by boys, considered mild and good. Girls should stay away from this one!

私 (atashi): same kanji as watashi, but read differently. "Atashi" is a girls' pronoun, very feminine at that. It's still formal enough to use in conversation, but boys should absolutely avoid this one.

俺 (ore): another male pronoun. But be careful with this one!! It's VERY masculine, rough, informal and boastful. By saying "ore" it means you have a very high concept of yourself, that you are vain and even egotistical. You might want to avoid this one. For girls, it's unacceptable. For boys, it may give the wrong impression. Also, if you're just starting to learn Japanese, people from Japan that hear you talk with "ore" might think that either you were taught wrongly or that you have an AMAZING, almost bilingual, use of the language to be talking like that. Overall I would advise you to stay away from "ore". The situation in which it's OK to say it is if you're Japanese, or very fluent in it, and are amongst friends.

私 (watakushi): also written like "watashi". It's very feminine, but I would say a little silly. It's a common gag in the anime that conceited, snobby girls use "watakushi". I don't think it's suitable for a foreigner's speech, unless you really know what you are doing.

I hope you liked this installment and that it was helpful to you ;)

Until next time!