How should I select what first-person pronoun to use?


I've always had trouble choosing which first person pronoun to use - 私
(watashi), 僕 (boku), or 俺 (おれ). What kind of factors should I keep in mind
when choosing between these? Is it common to vary one's choice by the social
context, or do people tend to select one and stick with it all the time?




It depends a lot on the situation. I try to keep it simple and only use three
most practical forms of the pronoun:

僕 (boku) :: I use it whenever I am not at work

俺 (ore) :: Almost never use 俺 unless most people around me are already using
俺, too informal.

私 (watashi) :: What I always use at work. Never ever use _boku_ at work, or in
an email, since somebody could consider that you are being rude and not too
formal. (Happened to me a couple of times when I was a new graduate at a
Japanese company).




It depends a lot on the situation. I try to keep it simple and only use three
most practical forms of the pronoun:

僕 (boku) :: I use it whenever I am not at work

俺 (ore) :: Almost never use 俺 unless most people around me are already using
俺, too informal.

私 (watashi) :: What I always use at work. Never ever use _boku_ at work, or in
an email, since somebody could consider that you are being rude and not too
formal. (Happened to me a couple of times when I was a new graduate at a
Japanese company).

