私

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

Stroke order

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

• 俬, 𭈀, 𦮺, 𥢅/𥢆/𫁅

• Kangxi Dictionary: 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

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

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

Displaced the original form 厶.

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, humble) first-person singular pronoun: I; me
4. illegal or secret goods

   走私  ―  zǒusī  ―  to smuggle

5. stealthily; secretly

   私語／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”)

(Sixth grade kyōiku kanji)

• Go-on: し (shi, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: し (shi, Jōyō)
• Kun: わたくし (watakushi, 私, Jōyō)、わたし (watashi, 私, Jōyō)、ひそかに (hisokani, 私かに)

• 私語(ささめごと) (sasamegoto)
• 私語(ささや)く (sasayaku, “to whisper, rumor”)

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

Alternative spelling
和多志 (neologism)

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.

• (Tokyo) わたし [wàtáshí] (Heiban – [0])^[2][3]
• IPA^(key): [β̞a̠ta̠ɕi]

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.

Watashi is the usual polite term for referring to oneself.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:私.

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 我(わ) (wa, “I, me”) + つ (tsu, “genitive marker”), and the other parts remain unknown.

• 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”).

• The first element may come from 内(うち) (uchi, “one's own, my, our”), and the second element remains 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.

• (Tokyo) わたくし [wàtákúshí] (Heiban – [0])^[2][3]
• IPA^(key): [β̞a̠ta̠kɯ̟̊ɕi]

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)

私(わたくし) • (watakushi) 

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

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.

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

/si/ → /ɕi/

From Middle Chinese 私 (MC sij).

私(し) • (shi) 

1. personal, private
2. secret

私(し) • (shi) 

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

• 私(し)バス (shibasu, “privately operated bus”)

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.)

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.)

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.)

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 does not have a page created for it yet: あし.)

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.)

Kanji in this term
私
あて Grade: 6
irregular

For pronunciation and definitions of 私 – see the following entry.

【あて】 [pronoun] (Kansai, feminine, dated) I; me

(This term, 私, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

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; also Internet slang, originally 2channel 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.)

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 (more common) of the above term.)

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.)

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] (now dialectal) first-person singular pronoun

(This term, 私, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Kanji in this term
私
わたい Grade: 6
irregular

For pronunciation and definitions of 私 – see the following entry.

【わたい】 [pronoun] (archaic) I; me

(This term, 私, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Kanji in this term
私
わちき Grade: 6
irregular

For pronunciation and definitions of 私 – see the following entry.

【わちき】 [pronoun] (archaic) I; me (used by prostitutes in the Edo period; sometimes used by tradesmen's daughters)

(This term, 私, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Kanji in this term
私
わて Grade: 6
irregular

For pronunciation and definitions of 私 – see the following entry.

【わて】 [pronoun] (archaic) I; me

(This term, 私, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

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); usually accompanied by archaic speech styles Alternative spelling 妾

(This term, 私, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

私 (eumhun 사사 사 (sasa sa))

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

私 (watakusi) (kana わたくし)

1. a personal or private matter

• 私田 (watakusida)

• Japanese: 私 (watakushi, watashi)

私: Hán Nôm readings: tư, tây

1. private, personal