私

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

Translingual[edit]

Stroke order
7 strokes

Han character[edit]

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

Derived characters[edit]

References[edit]

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

Chinese[edit]

simp. and trad.
 私
2nd round simp. 厶
alternative forms 厶 ancient

Glyph origin[edit]

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[edit]

Note:
  • sai - vernacular;
  • sir/su - literary.
Note:
  • se1 - literary;
  • sai1 - vernacular.
  • Wu
  • Xiang
    • 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
    Baxter sij
    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
    Expected
    Cantonese
    Reflex         		si1
    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[edit]

    私

    1. self; personal; private
      私人  ―  sīrén  ―  personal
      私有  ―  sīyǒu  ―  private
    2. selfish
      自私  ―  zìsī  ―  selfish
    3. (Can we add an example for this sense?) (Classical Chinese, humble) first-person singular pronoun: I; me
    4. illegal or secret goods
      走私  ―  zǒusī  ―  to smuggle
    5. stealthily; secretly
      私语  ―  sīyǔ  ―  to whisper
    6. (obsolete) Used by women to refer to their sister's husband
    7. reproductive organs; genitals
    8. (Internet slang) Short for 私聊 (sīliáo, “to PM, to DM”).

    Descendants[edit]

    Sino-Xenic (私):
    • → Japanese: 私(し) (shi)
    • → Korean: 사(私) (sa)
    • → Vietnamese: tư (私)

    Compounds[edit]

    Derived terms from 私

    Japanese[edit]

    Kanji[edit]

    私

    (grade 6 “Kyōiku” kanji)

    Readings[edit]

    Compounds[edit]

    Etymology 1[edit]

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

    Shift from watakushi below.[1][2]

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

    Pronunciation[edit]

    Pronoun[edit]

    私(わたし) • (watashi) 

    1. (polite) first-person singular pronoun: I, me
      私(わたし)はイギリス人(じん)です。
      Watashi wa Igirisu-jin desu.
      I am British.
    Usage notes[edit]

    Watashi is the usual polite term for referring to oneself.

    Quotations[edit]

    For quotations using this term, see Citations:私.

    Coordinate terms[edit]
    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)
    Speaker Situation 1 2 3
    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)
    Speaker Situation 1 2 3
    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%
    Derived terms[edit]
    Derived terms
    See also[edit]
    See also

    Etymology 2[edit]

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

    From Old Japanese 私 (watakusi).

    A surface analysis suggests a compound term. However, no likely etyma are known.

    • From first-person pronoun 我 (wa, “I, me”) + takusi: although the first element seems likely, the original meaning of watakushi was “private”, as opposed to “public”, with no first-person pronoun usage until the late 13th century.
    • From wata + kusi: the only phonetic matches are 綿 (wata, “cotton; cotton batting”), 腸 (wata, “guts, one's innards”, likely derived from the “batting” sense), 海 (wata, “sea, ocean”) + 串 (kusi, “skewer”), 奇し (kusi, “magic, fantastic, supernatural”, adjective), 酒 (kusi, “alcoholic beverage”, likely derived from the “magic” sense), 櫛 (kusi, “comb”).
    • From wataku + si: no such word wataku appears to exist.
    • From wa + ta + ku + si: unknown.

    The meaning evolved over time from “private” or “privatization”, to refer to things that are personal, to refer to one's own person, and then finally to serve as a generic first-person pronoun. The full form watakushi is still used in modern Japanese as a formal, highly polite first-person pronoun. The abbreviated form watashi is now the most common and neutrally polite first-person pronoun.

    Pronunciation[edit]

    Noun[edit]

    私(わたくし) • (watakushi) 

    1. a personal or private matter
    2. (by extension) selfishness
      Synonyms: 自分勝手 (jibun katte), 私利私欲 (shiri shiyoku)
    Derived terms[edit]
    Derived terms

    Pronoun[edit]

    私(わたくし) • (watakushi) 

    1. (formal) first-person singular pronoun: I, me
    Usage notes[edit]

    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.

    Derived terms[edit]
    Derived terms

    Etymology 3[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    私
    し
    Grade: 6
    on’yomi

    /si/ → /ɕi/

    From Middle Chinese 私 (MC siɪ).

    Affix[edit]

    私(し) • (shi) 

    1. personal, private
    2. secret
    Derived terms[edit]
    Derived terms

    Noun[edit]

    私(し) • (shi) 

    1. a personal or private matter
    2. selfishness
    3. privacy, secrecy
    4. (women's speech, obsolete) a brother-in-law
    Derived terms[edit]

    Etymology 4[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    私
    あたし
    Grade: 6
    irregular
    For pronunciation and definitions of 私 – see the following entry.
    【あたし】
    [pronoun] (chiefly women's speech) first person singular pronoun: I, me
    (This term, 私, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)


    Etymology 5[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    私
    あたくし
    Grade: 6
    irregular
    For pronunciation and definitions of 私 – see the following entry.
    【あたくし】
    [pronoun] more polite form of あたし (atashi)
    (This term, 私, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)


    Etymology 6[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    私
    あっし
    Grade: 6
    irregular
    For pronunciation and definitions of 私 – see the following entry.
    【あっし】
    [pronoun] [from 1908] first person singular pronoun: I, me
    (This term, 私, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)


    Etymology 7[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    私
    あし
    Grade: 6
    irregular
    For pronunciation and definitions of 私 – see the following entry: あし

    (The following entry is uncreated: あし.)

    Etymology 8[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    私
    あたい
    Grade: 6
    irregular
    For pronunciation and definitions of 私 – see the following entry.
    【あたい】
    [pronoun] (informal) first-person pronoun: I, me
    [pronoun] (Kagoshima, dialect) first-person pronoun: I, me
    (This term, 私, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)


    Etymology 9[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    私
    あて
    Grade: 6
    irregular
    For pronunciation and definitions of 私 – see the following entry: あて

    (The following entry is uncreated: あて.)

    Etymology 10[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    私
    わい
    Grade: 6
    irregular
    For pronunciation and definitions of 私 – see the following entry.
    【わい】
    [pronoun] (dialect, Kansai, Kagoshima; or Internet slang) I, me (first-person pronoun, mainly used by males)
    [pronoun] you (second-person pronoun, used when addressing an equal or inferior)
    [particle] (dated or dialectal) A particle used in the end of sentences to indicate admiration or emotion. Slightly stronger than わ (wa).
    (This term, 私, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)


    Etymology 11[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    私
    わし
    Grade: 6
    irregular
    For pronunciation and definitions of 私 – see the following entry.
    【儂わし】H
    [pronoun] (mainly Western Japan) I, me
    (This term, 私, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)


    Etymology 12[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    私
    わっし
    Grade: 6
    irregular
    For pronunciation and definitions of 私 – see the following entry.
    【わっし】
    [pronoun] (colloquial) first-person singular pronoun: I, me
    (This term, 私, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)


    Etymology 13[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    私
    わっち
    Grade: 6
    irregular
    For pronunciation and definitions of 私 – see the following entry.
    【わっち】
    [pronoun] 私: (now dialectal) first-person singular pronoun
    (This term, 私, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)


    Etymology 14[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    私
    わたい
    Grade: 6
    irregular
    For pronunciation and definitions of 私 – see the following entry: わたい

    (The following entry is uncreated: わたい.)

    Etymology 15[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    私
    わちき
    Grade: 6
    irregular
    For pronunciation and definitions of 私 – see the following entry: わちき

    (The following entry is uncreated: わちき.)

    Etymology 16[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    私
    わて
    Grade: 6
    irregular
    For pronunciation and definitions of 私 – see the following entry: わて

    (The following entry is uncreated: わて.)

    Etymology 17[edit]

    Kanji in this term
    私
    わらわ
    Grade: 6
    irregular
    For pronunciation and definitions of 私 – see the following entry.
    【わらわ】
    [pronoun] (archaic, women's speech, humble) I; me
    [pronoun] (Can we verify(+) this sense?) (modern fiction, women's speech) I; me (used by haughty women of the highest classes of society)
    Alternative spellings
    妾, 私
    (This term, 私, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

    References[edit]

    1. ^ 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN

    Korean[edit]

    Hanja[edit]

    私 (eumhun 사사 사 (sasa sa))

    1. Hanja form? of 사 (“private, personal”).

    Old Japanese[edit]

    Etymology[edit]

    This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
    Particularly: “Cognate with first person singular pronoun 我 (wa)?”

    Noun[edit]

    私 (watakusi) (kana わたくし)

    1. a personal or private matter

    Derived terms[edit]

    Descendants[edit]

    • Japanese: 私 (watakushi, watashi)

    Vietnamese[edit]

    Han character[edit]

    私: Hán Nôm readings: tư, tây

    1. private, personal
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