私

See also: 厶
私 U+79C1, 私
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-79C1
← 秀
[U+79C0] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 秂 →
[U+79C2]

Translingual
Stroke order

Han character

私 (radical 115, 禾+2, 7 strokes, cangjie input 竹木戈 (HDI), four-corner 22930, composition ⿰禾厶)

Derived characters
  • 俬, 𭈀, 𦮺, 𥢅/𥢆/𫁅

References
  • KangXi: page 849, character 5
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 24913
  • Dae Jaweon: page 1271, character 2
  • Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 4, page 2589, character 6
  • Unihan data for U+79C1

Chinese
simp. and trad.
 私
variant forms 厶 ancient and 2nd round simp.

Glyph origin
Characters in the same phonetic series (厶) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
私 *sil
厶 *sil

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *sil) : semantic 禾 (“grain”) + phonetic 厶 (OC *sil) – private grain or field.

Displaced the original form 厶.

Pronunciation
Note:
  • sai - vernacular;
  • sir/su - literary.
Note:
  • se1 - literary;
  • sai1 - vernacular.
Rime
Character 私
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 心 (16)
Final (韻) 脂 (15)
Tone (調) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) III
Fanqie 息夷切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang		 /siɪ/
Pan
Wuyun		 /si/
Shao
Rongfen		 /sjɪ/
Edwin
Pulleyblank		 /si/
Li
Rong		 /si/
Wang
Li		 /si/
Bernard
Karlgren		 /si/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex		 sī
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 私
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)		 sī
Middle
Chinese		 ‹ sij ›
Old
Chinese		 /*[s]əj/
English private

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 私
Reading # 1/1
No. 11949
Phonetic
component		 厶
Rime
group		 脂
Rime
subdivision		 1
Corresponding
MC rime		 私
Old
Chinese		 /*sil/

Definitions

私

  1. self; personal; private
    私人  ―  sīrén  ―  personal
    私有  ―  sīyǒu  ―  private
  2. selfish
    自私  ―  zìsī  ―  selfish

Compounds
Derived terms from 私

Japanese

Kanji
私

(grade 6 “Kyōiku” kanji)

  1. private, personal
  2. secret
  3. I, me

Readings

Compounds
Compounds

Etymology 1
Kanji in this term
私
わたし
Grade: 6
kun’yomi

Shift from watakushi (see below).[1][2]

This spelling was already prevalent in early modern times, possibly around the mid-late Muromachi to early-Edo period.

Pronunciation

Pronoun

私 (hiragana わたし, rōmaji watashi)

  1. (polite) first-person pronoun: I, me
    私 (わたし)はイギリス人 (じん)です。
    Watashi wa Igirisu-jin desu.
    I'm English.
    • 太宰治, 『走れメロス』
      「私 (わたし)だ、刑 (けい)吏 (り)！　殺 (ころ)されるのは、私 (わたし)だ。メロスだ。彼 (かれ)を人質 (ひとじち)にした私 (わたし)は、ここにいる！」と、かすれた声 (こえ)で精 (せい)一 (いっ)ぱいに叫 (さけ)びながら、ついに磔台 (はりつけだい)に昇 (のぼ)り、釣 (つ)り上 (あ)げられてゆく友 (とも)の両足 (りょうあし)に、齧 (かじ)りついた。
      “Watashi da, keiri! Korosareru no wa, watashi da. Merosu da. Kare o hitojichi ni shita watashi wa, koko ni iru!” to, kasureta koe de seiippai ni sakebinagara, tsui ni haritsukedai ni nobori, tsuriagerareteyuku tomo no ryōashi ni, kajiritsuita.
      "It's me, executioner! The one who shall be killed is me. Melos. The me who held him hostage is here!" Shouting in a hoarse voice with all his strength, he grabbed the legs of his friend who was already hoisted onto the cross.
    • 2016, Ryunosuke Kamiki as Mitsuha Miyamizu, 君の名は。 [your name.], written by Makoto Shinkai:
      お前 (まえ)さあ、どうやったら通 (つう)学 (がく)で道 (みち)に迷 (まよ)えんだよ？
      Omae sā, dō yattara tsūgaku de michi ni mayoen da yo?
      How did you get lost on your way to school?
      あぁ…えっと…私 (わたし)…
      Ā… Etto… Watashi…
      Um… Well… I…

(alternative reading hiragana わたす, romaji watasu)

  1. (dialectal) I; me
    • 1987 February 20 [Nov 15 1982], Murakami, Motoka, “嵐らん子こ再ふたたびの巻まき [Reunite with Ranko]”, in 六ム三サ四シの剣けん [Musashi’s Sword], volume 7 (fiction), 18th edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN, page 166:
      わたす…轟 (とどろき)　嵐 (らん)子 (こ)！
      Watasu… Todoroki Ranko!
      Ah’m… Todoroki Ranko!
    • 1987 February 20 [Nov 15 1982], Murakami, Motoka, “５年ねん前まえの誓ちかいの巻まき [An Oath Five Years Ago]”, in 六ム三サ四シの剣けん [Musashi’s Sword], volume 7 (fiction), 18th edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN, page 170:
      六 (ム)三 (サ)四 (シ)、今 (いま)すぐわたすと勝 (しょう)負 (ぶ)しろ‼
      Musashi, imasugu watasu to shōbu shiro‼
      Musashi, ah challenge you to a duel‼
      (literally, “Musashi, settle with me right now‼”)
Usage notes

Watashi is the usual polite term for referring to oneself.

Etymology 2
Kanji in this term
私
わたくし
Grade: 6
kun’yomi

Pronunciation

Noun

私 (hiragana わたくし, rōmaji watakushi)

  1. a personal matter
  2. selfishness
    Synonyms: 自分勝手 (jibun katte), 私利私欲 (shiri shiyoku)
  3. a private matter
Derived terms
Derived terms
  • 私 (わたくし)する (watakushi suru): to appropriate, embezzle, use for personal purposes
  • 私 (わたくし)雨 (あめ) (watakushi ame): a sudden rain shower falling in just a small area
  • 私 (わたくし)軍 (いくさ), 私 (わたくし)戦 (いくさ) (watakushi ikusa): a private feud
  • 私 (わたくし)銀 (がね), 私金 (わたくしがね) (watakushigane): personal money, secret savings, a financial nest egg
  • 私 (わたくし)戦 (たたかい) (watakushi tatakai): a private feud
  • 私 (わたくし)戯 (たわぶれ) (watakushi tawabure): chatting up a go-between or mediator, as an aside to the main issue being mediated
  • 私共 (わたくしども) (watakushidomo), 私共 (わたしども) (watashidomo): 謙譲語 (kenjōgo, humble word for "we" or "us")

Pronoun

私 (hiragana わたくし, rōmaji watakushi)

  1. (formal) first-person pronoun: I, me
Usage notes

Watakushi is the formal term, only used in certain circumstances, such as by TV announcers or public figures such as politicians. Conversely, it is too formal for casual conversation for men, where terms like 俺 (ore) are preferred.

Etymology 3
Kanji in this term
私
あたし
Grade: 6
kun’yomi

Shift from watashi (see above).[1][2]

Pronunciation

Pronoun

私 (hiragana あたし, katakana アタシ, rōmaji atashi)

  1. (colloquial, women's speech) first-person pronoun: I, me

(alternative reading hiragana あたい, romaji atai)

  1. (Kagoshima) I; me
    • 2008, bit (lyrics), “⑨destiny ～ ずっとチルノのターン”, in Rebirth, performed by Silver Forest:
      まるきゅ～って言 (い)わないで　アタイは最強 (さいきょう)だも～ん
      Marukyu~ tte iwanaide / Atai wa saikyō da mo~n
      Don't call me ⑨ / Because I'm the strongest

Etymology 4
Kanji in this term
私
わらわ
Grade: 6
kun’yomi

From 童 (warawa, “young child, especially one who does errands”).

Pronoun

私 (hiragana わらわ, rōmaji warawa, historical hiragana わらは)

  1. Alternative spelling of 妾 (warawa): first-person pronoun: I, me

Coordinate terms
Japanese first-person pronouns

Japanese first-person pronouns by speakers and situations according to Yuko Saegusa, Concerning the First Personal Pronoun of Native Japanese Speakers (2009)

First-person pronouns by elementary school pupils (2008)
SpeakerSituation123
Female To friends うち 49%First name 26%あたし 15%
In the family First name 33%あたし 29%うち 23%
In a class わたし 86%あたし 7%うち 6%
To an unknown visitor わたし 75%あたし, first name, うち 8% each
To the class teacher わたし 66%First name 13%あたし 9%
Male To friends おれ 72%ぼく 19%First name 4%
In the family おれ 62%ぼく 23%うち 6%
In a class ぼく 85%おれ 13%First name, nickname 1% each
To an unknown visitor ぼく 64%おれ 26%First name 4%
To the class teacher ぼく 67%おれ 27%First name 3%
First-person pronouns by university students (2009)
SpeakerSituation123
Female To friends うち 39%あたし 30%わたし 22%
In the family あたし 28%First name 27%うち 18%
In a class わたし 89%あたし 7%自分 3%
To an unknown visitor わたし 81%あたし 10%自分 6%
To the class teacher わたし 77%あたし 17%自分 7%
Male To friends おれ 87%うち 4%わたし, 自分 2% each
In the family おれ 88%ぼく, 自分 5% each
In a class わたし 48%自分 28%ぼく 22%
To an unknown visitor ぼく 36%自分 29%わたし 22%
To the class teacher 自分 38%ぼく 29%わたし 22%

See also

References
  1. 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

Hanja

私 • (sa) (hangeul 사, McCune–Reischauer sa, Yale sa)

  1. private, personal

Vietnamese

Han character

私 (tư, tây)

  1. private, personal
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