僕 — “Me / I (male) / Servant / Manservant” in Japanese

Master (高手)ぼく, しもべ

Radical ⼈ · radical 9 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Me / I (male) / Servant / Manservant” in Japanese is 僕, read boku, shimobe (ぼく, しもべ). It is a Jōyō kanji taught in Japanese secondary school (junior & senior high) — the 高手 · Master tier beyond the grade 1–6 Kyōiku set, and appears in words such as 僕 (I, male).

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What does 僕 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	僕
Meaning	Me / I (male) / Servant / Manservant
Readings	ぼく, しもべ
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	僕 (I, male)

How to read 僕

僕 is read boku (ぼく) or shimobe (しもべ) depending on the word.

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Kanji read the same way as 僕

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Updated: 2026-08-28