What does “boku” mean in Japanese?
Some native speakers say “boku” to mean ‘I’ in Japanese. It is a Japanese pronoun to refer to speakerself normally used by boys and young males. Probably, many Japanese learners know this pronoun because it is quite often used in Japanese conversations and because it is quite often used in Japanese movies, songs, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain it in detail with its origin. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to 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. Normally, this is used by boys and young males in casual situations.
Many Japanese learners probably know the fact that the Japanese language has a lot of pronouns meaning ‘I’. This pronoun is one typical. 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 for casual situations. So, young males who know what pronoun to use in formal situations do not often use this one.
The definition and meaning are simple and clear, I think. To understand this pronoun more clearly, however, let me explain its origin in detail.
Origin of boku
Japanese people in the past said “boku” to mean ‘servant’. Interestingly, this usage is still valid today. Actually, its kun’yomi, “shimobe”, is sometimes used to mean a servant or servants in the modern Japanese language. Naturally, the question arises: why can the word meaning ‘servant’ be used to refer to speakerself? Japanese people often lower their positions in conversations to show their respect to listeners: lowering their positions often results in lifting listeners’ positions. This method seems to have been used in the old Japanese language as well. So, calling speakerself “servant” was a way to show his respect to listeners. Today “boku” is just 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” and its origin in detail. Next, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to use “boku” as the subject in a sentence
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. In the example, this works as an adverb 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 to say where “boku” 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 the example, it is followed by the binding particle, “wa”, and becomes the subject. When it works as the subject in a sentence, normally it needs to be followed by either “wa” or “ga“. It’s worth knowing.
This Japanese sentence sounds young. I mean that the speaker is most probably a boy or young man because he uses “boku” to refer to himself. This has not been reflected in translation, but we can see it from the Japanese sentence.
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 meaning ‘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 “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. In the Japanese language, nouns can not change their cases by themselves. So, they need the help of particles like this example. “Boku no” is the possessive case of “boku”. It is often used in Japanese conversations, so worth knowing.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “boku” in detail 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. Normally, this is used by boys and young males. Many Japanese learners probably know the fact that the Japanese language has a lot of pronouns meaning ‘I’. This pronoun is one typical. It’s also worth mentioning here that this pronoun is suitable for casual situations. So, young males who know what pronoun to use in formal situations do not often use this one.
- boku no – 僕の (ぼくの) : the possessive case of “boku”. “No” is a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the Japanese language, nouns can not change their cases by themselves. So, they need the help of particles like this.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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