What does “boku” mean in Japanese?
Some native speakers say “boku” to mean ‘I’ in Japanese. It is a Japanese first-person pronoun used mainly by boys and young males. Probably, many Japanese learners know it as it is often used in Japanese movies, songs, novels, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain it in detail together with its origin. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “boku” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “boku”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “boku”.
- boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males in casual situations.
Many Japanese learners probably know the fact that Japanese has a lot of first-person pronouns which can mean ‘I’. This pronoun is one of them. Native speakers, especially boys and young males, use this to say “I” in Japanese. It’s also worth mentioning here that this pronoun is suitable more for casual situations.
The definition and meaning are simple and clear, I think. To understand this pronoun more clearly, however, let me explain its origin in detail.
What did “boku” originally mean in Japanese?
People in the past said “boku” to mean a ‘servant’ or ‘servants’ in Japanese. Interestingly, this usage is still valid today. The kun’yomi of its kanji character, “shimobe”, is sometimes used to refer to a servant or servants in Japanese. Naturally, the question arises: why can the word meaning a ‘servant’ or ‘servants’ work as a first-person pronoun to mean ‘I’ in Japanese? Japanese people often lower their positions in conversations to show their respect to their listeners: lowering their positions often results in lifting their listeners’ positions. This method was also used in the old Japanese language. So, calling speakerself “servant” was a way to show his respect to listeners. Today, “boku” just works as a pronoun to mean ‘I’, but this is the origin and background of this pronoun.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “boku” together with its origin. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “I” in Japanese
boku wa kyou gakkou ni it ta – 僕は今日学校に行った (ぼくはきょうがっこうにいった)
I went to school today.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “boku” to make the subject in the sentence.
- kyou – 今日 (きょう) : a noun meaning ‘today’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb almost anywhere in a sentence. In the example, this works as an adverb in the middle of the sentence to say “today” in Japanese.
- gakkou – 学校 (がっこう) : a noun meaning ‘school’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say where someone or something goes. In the example, this is used after “gakkou” to say where the speaker went.
- it – 行っ (いっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “iku“, which means ‘to go’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form. In the example, this is used after “it” to make its past tense form, “it ta”.
This is a typical usage of “boku”. In this example, it works together with the binding particle, “wa”, and becomes the subject in the sentence.
This Japanese sentence sounds young. I mean that the speaker is probably a boy or young man because he uses “boku” to refer to himself. This has not been reflected in the English sentence, but we can understand it from the Japanese first-person pronoun.
Example #2: another usage of “boku”
kore wa boku no kuruma desu – これは僕の車です (これはぼくのくるまです)
This is my car.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kore – これ : a demonstrative pronoun used to refer to something close to the speaker. In the example, this is used to mean ‘this’ in Japanese.
- no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “boku” to make its possessive case, “boku no”, which means ‘my’ in Japanese.
- kuruma – 車 (くるま) : a noun meaning ‘car’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “boku no kuruma” to make it sound polite.
This is another typical usage of “boku”. In this example, it works together with the case particle, “no,” to say “my” in Japanese. This combination, “boku no”, is sometimes used in conversations to mean ‘my’ in Japanese. It’s worth knowing.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “boku” in detail together with its origin. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males. Many Japanese learners probably know the fact that Japanese has a lot of first-person pronouns which can mean ‘I’. This pronoun is one of them. Native speakers, especially boys and young males, use this to say “I” in Japanese. It’s also worth mentioning here that this pronoun is suitable more for casual situations.
- boku no – 僕の (ぼくの) : the possessive case of “boku”, which means ‘my’ in Japanese. “No” is a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
