1) Gender
Males: 俺、僕
Females: あたし
Both/Formal: 私、わたくし
Childish: ウチ、自分の名前
Elder: わし、吾輩
3) Local Culture
Kansai: ワイ、自分、オイラ、ウチ(Kyoto)
Kantou: 私
Overall, we may find at least three categories for Japanese individual pronoun as follow:
1. Gender
a) Males usually won’t use “あたし” or “ウチ”, and females won’t self-call “俺” or “オイラ” meanwhile.
b) The personal pronoun in the formal circulation is either males or females, like “私” or “わたくし”.
c) The line could be overlapped if males are girlish or females are boyish.
2. Age
a) Without local culture consideration, the Kansai residents probably sound their own name or girls may said “ウチ” during their childhood.
b) The elderly probably use “わし” or “吾輩” to emphasis their long-lived status, which is found respect for in Japanese society.
3. Local Culture
The personal pronouns in local dialect, such as “ワイ” in Oosaka or “ウチ” in Kyoto, refer to the local culture. Although the Kantou language is the offical one in Japan, the local charateristics are not phrased out.
