I, me, private

About this kanji

The kanji 「私」 primarily means "I" or "me," and it can also mean "private". It is commonly used as a noun when referring to oneself, like in the word「私たち」(watashitachi), which means "we." You can also see it in compounds like「私立」(shiritsu), meaning "private" (as in private schools), and「私服」(shifuku), which means "private clothes," referring to casual wear as opposed to uniforms. A helpful note is that while「私」is often used in formal situations, in casual conversations, people might opt for the shorter form「僕」(boku) for males or「あたし」(atashi) for females.

Built from

Example sentences

• 私は学生です。

  I am a student.

Meanings across languages

English

I, me, private

Tiếng Việt

tôi, riêng tư

日本語

私, わたくし, わたし

한국어

나

中文

我

id

saya

th

ฉัน

es

yo

fr

je

de

ich

pt

eu

Common compounds

• 私立しりつprivate (school)
• 私服しふくprivate clothes, casual clothes
• 私たちわたしたちwe, us
• 私用しようpersonal use