私わたくし

わ

た

く

し

JLPTN1›Freq.FrequencyTop 100

Meanings

pronoun

I; me

Formal first-person pronoun, more polite than わたし. Used in business, official settings, and polite speech.

Expressions

私わたくし儀ぎas for me; I
私わたくしも又またme too; I also

Kanji

私private, I, me

Related words

僕ぼくN5sense 1
僕 is a casual first-person pronoun typically used by men among friends or family, whereas 私（わたくし）is highly formal and gender-neutral.
あたしN1sense 1
あたし is a very casual, feminine first-person pronoun, in contrast to the formal and gender-neutral 私（わたくし）.
自じ分ぶんN5sense 1
自分 can be used informally to mean 'I' or 'myself', while 私（わたくし）is the polite, formal way to refer to oneself.

Opposites

公おおやけN2sense 2
official; governmental; formal · public; common; open to all · public knowledge; out in the open; exposure

Politeness

私わたしpolite 丁寧語N5sense 1
わたし is the standard, everyday polite first-person pronoun, while 私（わたくし）is a more formal register used in business or official speech.
俺おれplainN1
私（わたくし）is a very formal, humble way of referring to oneself, in sharp contrast to the blunt, casual 俺.

Word family

私わたくし雨あめ
local rainfall; isolated showers
私わたくしする
use for personal gain; misappropriate; embezzle · act selfishly
私わたくしども
we; us · I; me; my store/business

Written forms

私わたくしUsage99%
Standard kanji spelling for the formal first-person pronoun and related noun senses.
わたくしUsage1%
Kana spelling is common in formal writing and when the kanji 私 might be read as わたし.
ワタクシUsage<1%
search-only kana form
Katakana form is search-only; not a standard written variant.

Etymology

Derived from the same kanji 私 as わたし, with a more formal reading わたくし. The reading likely developed as a polite variant, possibly from an older form of the first-person pronoun.

あたし

plain

わたくし is a very formal, gender-neutral way to say 'I' used in business or ceremonial speech, whereas あたし is casual and feminine.