Most common words meaning "I" are watashi and boku. These contexts are easy to understand.
watashi
Daily conversation, business, formal situations
boku
Everyday conversation, friendly but respectful tone
| Feature | Watashi | Boku |
|---|---|---|
| Politeness | Polite, neutral | Polite but slightly casual |
| Gender | Used by everyone (more common for women in casual speech) | Mostly used by men |
| Formality | Formal situations (business, public speech) | Everyday polite speech (friendly, respectful) |
| Impression | Calm, respectful, formal | Gentle, friendly, modest |
Women don't use boku at least in public but you may see some school girls in mangas say that word. This is because it's manga!
jibun
Many language learner may be struggled to see the slight difference of watashi and jibun. jibun (じぶん/自分) can be translated to "myself" instead of "I".
jibun is not casual nor formal but you would listen to it too many times in Japanese office. jibun is gender-neutral but men use it more.
If you say jibun in front of your Japanese friends (under 40), they may teach you not to use it so often.
Lets think of "I do it" in Japanese.
watashi wa suru.
boku wa suru.
jibun wa suru.
The first two sentences are perfect but the last case is so strange! But the following is not so but.
jibun wa yaru.
Very confusing! Why? It is difficult to explain the reason but you should know this point:
jibun should be used as "jibun de" or "jibun wo" etc. Avoid using jibun as subject like the above example.
