Japanese Pronouns - List of Japanese Personal Pronouns

List of Japanese Personal Pronouns

The list is incomplete, as there are numerous Japanese pronoun forms, which vary by region and dialect. This is a list of the most commonly used forms. Note that "it" has no direct equivalent in Japanese (though in some contexts the demonstrative pronoun それ is translatable as "it"). Note, also, that Japanese doesn't generally inflect by case, so, I is equivalent to me.

Romaji Hiragana Kanji Level of speech Gender Notes

– I/me –
watashi わたし 私 formal both In formal or polite contexts, this is gender neutral, but, when used in informal or casual contexts, it is usually perceived as feminine.
watakushi わたくし 私 very formal both The most formal polite form.
ware われ 我, 吾 very formal both Used in literary style. Also used as rude second person in western dialects.
waga わが 我が very formal both Means "my" or "our". Used in speeches and formalities; 我が社 waga-sha (our company) or 我が国 waga-kuni (our country).
ore おれ 俺 informal males Frequently used by men. It can be seen as rude depending on the context. Establishes a sense of masculinity. Emphasizes one's own status when used with peers and with those who are younger or who have less status. Among close friends or family, its use is a sign of familiarity rather than of masculinity or of superiority. It was used by both gender until the late Edo period and still in some dialects.
boku ぼく 僕 informal males Used when casually giving deference; "servant" uses the same kanji. (僕 shimobe), especially a male one, from a Sino-Japanese word. Can also be used toward children. (English equivalent – "kid" or "squirt".)
washi わし 儂 formal/informal mainly males Colloquial. Often used in western dialects and fictional settings to stereotypically represent old characters.
atai あたい very informal females, rarely males (girlish) Slang version of あたし atashi.
atashi あたし informal females, rarely males (girlish) Often considered cute. Rarely used in written language, but common in conversation, especially among younger women.
atakushi あたくし informal females
uchi うち 家, 内 informal females (girlish) Means "one's own". Often used in western dialects especially the Kansai dialect. Generally written in kana. Plural form uchi-ra is used by both gender. Singular form is also used by both sexes when talking about the household, e.g. "uchi no neko" ("my/our cat"), "uchi no chichi-oya" ("my father"); also used in less formal business speech to mean "our company", e.g. "uchi wa sandai no rekkaasha ga aru" ("we (our company) have three tow-trucks").
(own name) informal both Used by small children and young women, considered cute and childish.
oira おいら informal both Similar to 俺 ore, but more casual. May give off sense of more country bumpkin.
ora おら informal both Dialect in Kanto and further north. Similar to おいら oira, but more rural. Used among children influenced by main characters in Dragon Ball and Crayon Shin-chan.
wate わて informal both Dated Kansai dialect. Also ate (somewhat female).
oi おい informal males Kyushu dialect form of ore. Also oi-don in dated Kagoshima dialect.

– you (singular) –
(name and honorific) formality depends on the honorific used both
anata あなた 貴方, 貴男, 貴女 formal/informal both The kanji is rarely used. It is not used as much, since, when speaking to someone directly, the name of the addressee is better. Commonly used by women to address their husband or lover, in a way roughly equivalent to the English "dear".
anta あんた informal both Version of あなた anata. Often expresses contempt or familiarity towards a person. Generally seen as rude or uneducated when used in formal contexts.
otaku おたく お宅, 御宅 formal, polite both A polite way of saying "your house", also used as a pronoun to address a person with slight sense of distance. Otaku/otakki/ota turned into a slang term referring to a type of geek/obsessive hobbyist, as they often addressed each other as otaku.
omae おまえ お前 very informal both (masculine) Similar to anta, but used by men with more frequency. Expresses contempt/anger, the speaker's higher status or age, or a very casual relationship among peers. Often used with おれ ore. Should never be said to elders.
temee, temae てめえ,
てまえ		 手前 rude and confrontational mainly males Temee, a version of temae, is more rude. Used when the speaker is very angry. Originally used for a humble first person.
kisama きさま 貴様 extremely hostile and rude mainly males Historically very formal, but has developed in an ironic sense to show the speaker's extreme hostility / outrage towards the addressee.
kimi きみ 君 informal both The kanji means "lord" (archaic). Generally used with 僕 boku. The same kanji is used to write -kun. It is informal to subordinates; can also be affectionate; formerly very polite. Sometimes rude or assuming when used with superiors, elders or strangers.
kika きか 貴下 informal, to a younger person both
on-sha おんしゃ 御社 formal, used to the listener representing your company both
ki-sha きしゃ 貴社 formal, similar to onsha both

– he / she –
ano kata あのかた あの方 very formal both Sometimes pronounced ano hou, but with the same kanji.
ano hito あのひと あの人 formal/informal both Literally "that person".
yatsu やつ 奴 informal both A thing (very informal), dude, guy.
koitsu, koyatsu こいつ, こやつ 此奴 very informal, implies contempt both Denotes a person or material nearby the speaker. Analogous to "this one".
soitsu, soyatsu そいつ, そやつ 其奴 very informal, implies contempt both Denotes a person or material nearby the listener. Analogous to "he/she", "it" or "this/that one".
aitsu, ayatsu あいつ, あやつ 彼奴 very informal, implies contempt both Denotes a person or (less frequently) material far from both the speaker and the listener. Analogous to "he/she" or "that one".

– he –
kare かれ 彼 formal (neutral) and informal (boyfriend) both Can also mean "boyfriend". Formerly 彼氏 kareshi was its equivalent, but this now always means "boyfriend".

– she –
kanojo かのじょ 彼女 formal (neutral) and informal (girlfriend) both 彼の ("that") 女("female"). Originally created as an equivalent to female pronouns in European languages. Can also mean "girlfriend".

– we (see also list of pluralising suffixes, below) –
ware-ware われわれ 我々 formal both Mostly used when speaking on behalf of a company or group.
ware-ra われら 我等 informal both Used in literary style. ware is never used with -tachi.
hei-sha へいしゃ 弊社 formal and humble, used when representing one's own company both Used when representing one's own company. From a Sino-Japanese word meaning "low company" or "humble company".
waga-sha わがしゃ 我が社 formal, used when representing one's own company both

– they (see also list of pluralising suffixes, below) –
kare-ra かれら 彼等 common in spoken Japanese and writing both

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