私When learning Japanese 私 is usually first presented as the first person pronoun, watashi. Historically, however, its first meaning was private (as opposed to public), and only during the middle ages did it acquire the second meaning. In the ying/yang dichotomy there is feminine/masculine and private/public. And the double meaning of 私 means that its also considered feminine in some contexts, whereas the other first person pronoun 僕 is now always masculine. on readings:
links: Wiktionary |