私 I

Meaning

Primary

I

Alternative

Me

Word Type

pronoun, の adjective

Explanation

The kanji and the word are exactly the same. That means they share meanings as well.

Reading

わたし

わたくし

Explanation

If you're lucky, you already know this (very) common word's reading. It's the word for "I," probably one of the first things you'd learn in Japanese. The reading for this is わたし. If you don't know that already, just think: "What, a し?" referring to the reading of the kanji, which is し.

Context

Common Word Combinations

• 私の〜

  私のスマホ

  my smartphone

  私の父

  my father

  私のビー玉

  my marble

• 私は〜

  私はキョウコです

  I am Kyoko

  私はベッドの下です

  I am under the bed

  私は日本人です

  I am a Japanese person

Context Sentences

私は、イギリス人です。

I am English.

それは、私の生ビールです。

That's my draft beer.

どうか私をワニカニレベル六十の会に入れて下さい。

Please let me join the WaniKani Level 60 club.

Kanji Composition

1. 私

   し I