あたし

Japanese

Alternative spelling
私

Etymology

Lenition from 私 (watashi).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) あたし [àtáshí] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [a̠ta̠ɕi]

Pronoun

あたし • (atashi) 

1. (chiefly women's speech) first person singular pronoun: I, me
   • 1989 November 10 [1988 May 25], Fujiko F. Fujio, “第一話　スーパーマン襲名 [Chapter 1: Taking on the Mantle of Superman]”, in 征地球論 [A Debate over Conquering Earth] (藤子・Ｆ・不二雄 ＳＦ全短編; 3), 2nd edition, volume 3 (fiction), Tokyo: Chuokoronsha, →ISBN, 第三章　中年スーパーマン左江内氏, page 365:

     あたしやスーパーマンです

     Atashi ya Sūpāman desu

     I am Superman.

Usage notes

Most commonly used by girls and young women.

Derived terms

• あたい (atai)
• あたしん家(ち) (atashinchi)

See also

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 (uchi) 49%	First name 26%	あたし (atashi) 15%
	In the family	First name 33%	あたし (atashi) 29%	うち (uchi) 23%
	In a class	わたし (watashi) 86%	あたし (atashi) 7%	うち (uchi) 6%
	To an unknown visitor	わたし (watashi) 75%	あたし (atashi), first name, うち (uchi) 8% each
	To the class teacher	わたし (watashi) 66%	First name 13%	あたし (atashi) 9%
Male	To friends	おれ (ore) 72%	ぼく (boku) 19%	First name 4%
	In the family	おれ (ore) 62%	ぼく (boku) 23%	うち (uchi) 6%
	In a class	ぼく (boku) 85%	おれ (ore) 13%	First name, nickname 1% each
	To an unknown visitor	ぼく (boku) 64%	おれ (ore) 26%	First name 4%
	To the class teacher	ぼく (boku) 67%	おれ (ore) 27%	First name 3%

First-person pronouns by university students (2009)

Speaker	Situation	1	2	3
Female	To friends	うち (uchi) 39%	あたし (atashi) 30%	わたし (watashi) 22%
	In the family	あたし (atashi) 28%	First name 27%	うち (uchi) 18%
	In a class	わたし (watashi) 89%	あたし (atashi) 7%	自分(じぶん) (jibun) 3%
	To an unknown visitor	わたし (watashi) 81%	あたし (atashi) 10%	自分(じぶん) (jibun) 6%
	To the class teacher	わたし (watashi) 77%	あたし (atashi) 17%	自分(じぶん) (jibun) 7%
Male	To friends	おれ (ore) 87%	うち (uchi) 4%	わたし (watashi), 自分(じぶん) (jibun) 2% each
	In the family	おれ (ore) 88%	ぼく (boku), 自分(じぶん) (jibun) 5% each
	In a class	わたし (watashi) 48%	自分(じぶん) (jibun) 28%	ぼく (boku) 22%
	To an unknown visitor	ぼく (boku) 36%	自分(じぶん) (jibun) 29%	わたし (watashi) 22%
	To the class teacher	自分(じぶん) (jibun) 38%	ぼく (boku) 29%	わたし (watashi) 22%