あたし

Japanese

Alternative spelling
私

Etymology

Lenition from 私 (watashi).^[1]^[2]^[3]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) あたし [àtáshí] (Heiban – [0])^[3]^[4]
IPA^(key): [a̠ta̠ɕi]

Pronoun

あたし • (atashi)

(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, although sometimes used by elderly men (especially genteel or old-fashioned), or in some rural dialects.

Usage by modern men may be perceived as effeminate, campy, or otherwise strange.

Derived terms

あたい (atai)
あたしん家(ち) (atashinchi)

Japanese first-person pronouns¹
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%

¹ Japanese first-person pronouns by speakers and situations according to Yuko Saegusa, Concerning the First Personal Pronoun of Native Japanese Speakers (2009)

References

^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988), 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (1995), 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

[1] Shōgaku Tosho (1988), 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[2] Matsumura, Akira, editor (1995), 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJR-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-4] NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

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