Archaic humble first-person pronoun used by women, especially in historical or samurai-era contexts. Conveys self-deprecation and femininity. Not used in modern Japanese outside of period dramas or stylized writing.
I am too inexperienced to undertake such an important role.
時代劇で「わらわは…」と姫が話し始めた。
In the period drama, the princess began speaking with 'I...' using the archaic pronoun わらわ.
Archaic kanji spelling for the humble feminine first-person pronoun. The kanji 妾 originally means 'concubine' but is used here as a self-deprecating pronoun.
Alternate archaic kanji spelling; 私 is normally read わたし or わたくし, but in historical texts it can be read わらわ for this pronoun.
Derived from the word 童 (わらわ) meaning 'child', used as a humble self-reference by women. The kanji 妾 (concubine) was applied for its self-deprecating connotation. The exact historical development is uncertain.