我・吾|われware[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. pronounI; meocc. 和 for わ
   われに自由じゆうを与あたえよ。しからずんば死しを与あたえよ。↗

   Give me liberty or give me death.

   彼かれも人ひとなり我われも人ひとなり。↗

   What man has done, man can do.
2. pronounoneselfocc. 和 for わ
3. pronounyouocc. 和 for わ
4. prefixprefix indicating familiarity or contemptocc. 和

• Synonym自分じぶんNeutralA noun for oneself, as in 「自分でやる」; the everyday default. 「我」 is literary and archaic, mostly in set phrases like 「我ながら」 or philosophical usage.
• Synonym自分自身じぶんじしんNeutralAn emphatic way of saying 'oneself', as in 「自分自身を見つめる」; more colloquial and everyday than 「我」.
• Related自我じがNeutralA noun for the ego or one's sense of self, as in 「自我が強い」; mainly psychology and philosophy. Unlike 「我」, it is not a personal pronoun.
• Related自己じこNeutralA rather formal noun, mostly in compounds like 「自己紹介」. It does not serve as a personal pronoun, which 「我」 does.
• Related自らみずからNeutralNoun and adverb stressing doing something in person, as in 「自ら行う」. 「我」 is self-reference, as in 「我ながら」, and never means 'in person'.
• Related自身じしんNeutralA written-style noun that often follows another noun for emphasis, as in 「彼自身」. 「我」 is an archaic first-person word.
• Related本人ほんにんNeutralA noun for the person concerned, as in 「本人確認」; it points to whoever is directly involved in the matter. 「我」 is simply first person.
• Related主我しゅがWrittenA rare philosophical term for a self-centered, ego-first attitude; written style. 「我」 is a personal pronoun.
• Antonym汝うぬCasualRead うぬ: a rude, archaic colloquialism for 'you' — 'you rascal!' — common in period dramas. The second-person opposite of self-referring 「我」.
• AntonymそなたWrittenRead そなた: an archaic written-style second person, mostly a superior addressing an inferior, as in costume dramas. The second-person opposite of self-referring 「我」.

Use 「我」 (read われ) to refer to yourself in a literary, archaic style, as in 「我ながら」 or 「我こそは」. In everyday speech say 「自分」; in psychology or philosophy use 「自我」; for doing something in person use 「自ら」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. （われ）一いち人称にんしょう、われ、わたし。