How to Say "Me/I" in Japanese

Getting back to my roots as a Hubber, I wanted to share with you some standard ways to say "Me" or "I" in the Japanese language. Like 95% of everything in Japanese, your relative social status to the person you're talking to and also your gender makes for a different way to say "Me/I" each time. It's a tiny bit complicated, but you have a knowledgeable guide! Here's the quick list of 5 before we break it down further:

#1 Watashi

#2 Watakushi

#3 Boku

#4 Ore

#5 Atashi

If you've ever taken a Japanese class in college or elsewhere, this is probably the phrase you were taught to refer to yourself. "Watashi" is the second most polite way to refer to yourself, but it's #1 in the list because in semi-professional circles, this is used the most by both men and women. Here's the breakdown:

Like "Watashi" above, the Kanji for "Watakushi" is the same, but it's actually read differently (don't even get me started on the wiles of Kanji). "Watakushi" is a mouthful to say when you only want to say "Me/I", and that's why it's reserved for the most polite situations (the more a pain in the butt it is, the more polite it is right?). "Watakushi" breakdown below:

Here's one that's a little less stuffy. "Boku" is a way to say "Me/I" used by both boys and men (unless you're my 6 year old girl cousin, who weirdly uses this). It's pretty casual and can be used in basically any situation where you're pretty well acquainted with whoever you're talking to. However, it does have a kind of "boyish" tinge to it, in that it's softer and less abrasive than its alternative (the more manly way to say "Me/I" will be explained next). Nonetheless, it's perfectly acceptable for a grown man to use this, but only with friends, family, or fairly close acquaintances. "Boku" break down:

"Ore" (pronounced Oh-ray but with the "R" in ray rolled) is the extremely casual way to say "Me/I" in Japanese and is used only by men in bars or fights. Young boys use it too when they're trying to sound more grown up and tougher than they actually are. To bring up anomalies in my family again, my 80 year old grandmother for some unknown reason uses "Ore" to refer to herself. No one in my family knows why. Ore break down below:

"Atashi" is just a variant of "Watashi" but is much more casual and is only used by women. In groups of friends though, it's completely acceptable for girls and women to use either "watashi" or "atashi", but when in professional settings, a woman would never use "Atashi". Break down time:

To break away from the standard for my last entry, I'd like to introduce you with the 3rd person "Me" and the "Me" used in the Tsugaru area in Japan.

The 3rd Person "Me"

If you know any Japanese people with young kids, you'll probably hear them referring to themselves by their first name instead of with one of the entries above. It's usually something like this, and usually in reference to food stolen by a sibling:

"Sore wa Aya no~" (That's Aya's! *Pouty Face*)

However, this isn't limited to only young children, and every once in a while you'll hear young girls (think teens and young 20's) use this. In my opinion, it's to convey cuteness, and I personally think it to be corny but nonetheless, it's a way to say "Me". As a last note, there's nothing really wrong with using this, and if you're a girl and want to give off a "I'm cute!" aura to a guy you're flirting with, go with this.

The Tsugaru Dialect "Me", Wa (わ）

Tsugaru is a word used to refer to most of Aomori Prefecture, which is located at the northern tip of Japan's main Island and is my current temporary residence. There is a local dialect here called Tsugaru-Ben （津軽弁 つがるべん) , which just means, "Tsugaru dialect". When Tsugaru-Ben is spoken by the older folks here, even a native speaker of Japanese who isn't used to the dialect can have no idea of what is being said. The way they say "Me", however, is not that hard to pick up on. Up here, when speaking to a fellow Tsugaru-Ben speaker, you can say "Wa" （わ）to mean "Me". One simple syllable is all you need.

I've explained the most standard ways to say "Me" in Japanese, in addition to two bonus ones that are less standard. Depending on your region in Japan, however, the way you'll hear people (especially older folks) saying "Me" might change. If you manage to memorize the 5 ways to say "Me" in Japanese though, you'll have no problem referring to yourself no matter what prefecture you're in. Hope you liked this brief lesson about a simple but rule laden phrase in Japanese. If you're looking for the counterpart to "Me" and wish to learn how to say "You" in Japanese, check it out here.