私 — “I / private” in Japanese

Grade 6し, わたくし, わたし

Radical ⽲ · radical 115 The building block this kanji is filed under

“I / private” in Japanese is 私, read shi, watakushi, watashi (し, わたくし, わたし). It is a Grade 6 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 6 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 私立 (privately established).

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What does 私 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	私
Meaning	I / private
Readings	し, わたくし, わたし
Grade	Grade 6 (Hardest)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	私立 (privately established)

How to read 私

私 is read shi (し) or watakushi (わたくし) or watashi (わたし) depending on the word.

Words with 私

私立

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Updated: 2026-08-28