There's an interesting trend in Japan in the way people speak, that I noticed particularly when I was back there. Younger people in particular seem to be very reluctant to use the word "I" to refer to themselves.
The Japanese word for "I" varies depending on who is saying it to whom, but the most commonly used words are 私 (わたし watashi) and 僕 (ぼく boku). Watashi is used by women (and girls) and men (the very polite way to say the same word/kanji is watakushi) and boku is used mostly by men and boys.
Another word that can be used to point to onnesself is 自分 (じぶん jibun). If you translated jibun though, it would be closer to 'myself' or 'oneself' rather than I - in other words, it's more passive and third-personish than watashi or boku, which clearly do mean I.
Here's an example sentence using both watashi and jibun.
私はラーメンが好きです。 (watashi wa ramen ga suki desu.)
自分はラーメンが好きです。 (jibun wa ramen ga suki desu.)
Both mean "I like ramen", but the second sentence is more like "Myself likes ramen".
自分 has always been in regular use to mean oneself. However, recently many people use a turn of phrase that is even more passive, when expressing their opinions - 自分の中 (じぶんのなか jibun no naka), which means 'within myself'.
In March, there were several news reports in the Japanese media about the difficulties soon-to-be college graduates are having getting 内定 (ないてい naitei), or internal pre-approval for a job (the step usually taken by Japanese companies prior to officially hiring someone) this year due to the bad economy. Young people were being encouraged by employment agencies and others to look at small and midsize companies and not just the large corporations, but one young girl expressed this sentiment, which is probably shared by many of her colleagues:
自分の中では大手企業を希望してます。(じぶんのなかではおおてきぎょうをきぼうしてます jibun no naka de wa ohtekigyou o kibou shitemasu.)
A rough translation of this would be "I want to go to a large corporation" but a nuanced one would be "Within myself, there is a wish for a large corporation". Note the difference in tone - it's really quite passive...one could even say, depending on the tone, passive-aggressive.
I never noticed people using 自分の中 so much say, 10-15 years ago. It must say something about the way people in their 20-30s and younger think these days. (Older people still use watashi, boku etc.)
A boom within myself?
Combining 自分の中 with a typical example of an English word that's incorporated into Japanese and takes on a different meaning from the original, is the phrase
自分の中でブーム (じぶんのなかでぶーむ jibun no naka de buumu)
Directly translated it comes out to 'a boom within myself'. No, that doesn't mean that someone swallowed a bomb that went BOOM, or even that someone had a very spicy burrito and farted...um never mind. ^_^ It uses the meaning of boom as it's defined on this page - "a sudden increase in popularity". So 自分の中でブーム really means that "I am very much into/passonate about/obsessed with (whatever it is)". Example:
最近パンを焼くのが、自分の中でブームです。(saikin pan o yaku noga, jibun no naka de buumu desu.) - Recently, I am very into baking bread.
This use of boom has been turned into it's own new combination wasei-eigo (Japanese-English) word マイブーム (maibuumu), combining "my" and "boom". Many people use that with 自分の中, e.g. 自分の中でマイブーム - a my-boom within myself. A "my-boom" tends to mean a short term obsessive interest in something, that eventually burns out.
I guess you could say that people who are considered to be otaku are always having 自分の中でマイブーム, though it's not limited to those who might be defined as otaku. Though if you look at things a certain way, almost all Japanese people are otaku....
When I studied Japanese (not much beyond a beginner level), we were encouraged to leave out 私 whenever the context allowed it--I developed a sense that avoiding reference to one's self was not a youthful trend but a general rule of thumb for Japanese. On the other hand, I only ever learned 自分 in the sense of 自分で, i.e., "by myself."
I love the idea of マイブーム but I never have a short-term interest--I keep adding interests without giving up any of the old ones!
Posted by: Laura | 2010.05.14 at 04:17 PM
I've just realized reading your that I'm actually using "自分の中で" a lot lately, I might have picked it up unconsciously...
I often read you saying "passive aggressive" but what does it mean? Isn't it a contradiction in terms?
Posted by: Claudia | 2010.05.14 at 05:10 PM
Maki, this is very interesting! I have also noticed the third-person thing a lot and have always felt it was more formal. However, I'm living in the states and don't speak a lot of Japanese these days so I haven't really noticed the increase in "自分の中で".
I had a friend who referred to herself almost exclusively by her name rather than 私, especially when talking to her parents. I guess it is a sort of formal/ respectful thing that we just don't really do in English!
Claudia, passive-aggressive is usually defined as expressing negative feelings in a passive way. For example, Alice's roommate Jenny never does the dishes, so Alice takes all her dishes out of the kitchen and puts them in her room without saying anything to Jenny. Dealing with someone who responds passive-aggressively to everything can be very annoying!
Posted by: Rika | 2010.05.14 at 06:20 PM
This is really interesting! When I was learning Japanese, we were told not to use "Watashi" to refer to ourselves -- kind of gives off a haughty vibe.
Waseigo is always changing--hard to stay update on it!
Posted by: Nicole O. | 2010.05.14 at 08:29 PM
I work for a Japanese multinational and after hiring I received some training, 'dealing with Japanese people' was one of the classes we got. We were told/warned that they were very reluctant to express their opinion (which can be a bit annoying during meetings). I guess this reluctance to use the word "I" kind of stems from that.
I think (-within myself I have a feeling that-) it's the contrast with the Western approach that makes it stand out, to me it always seemed like they were just being tactful and trying not to offend anyone :)
Posted by: kim | 2010.05.18 at 11:03 AM
I love this blog, Maki. As someone who lived in Japan and is still learning Japanese, this blog is perfect for me. :)
I just wish you had this one (and you personal blog) on FeedBurner. Makes it so much easier to keep up. Maybe someday?
Thanks for the great blog(s)!
Posted by: Shari | 2010.06.30 at 06:54 AM
Sorry for the second post... I see that you do have FeedBurner for this blog, but no e-mail option. Again, maybe someday.
Thanks again!
Posted by: Shari | 2010.06.30 at 06:56 AM
Konichiwa, I have been working with a Japanese employer and you can always see how attached they are with there culture, It was so nice of you sharing the differences of using the word I in Japanese,
Posted by: French Translator | 2010.09.07 at 08:46 AM
Thank you for blogging on this. :) Is "jibun" more flexible that other self-identifiers in whom you can say it to?
Posted by: Jen in SF | 2010.09.19 at 09:35 AM
When I am going to start learning Japanese? Just love that country..
Posted by: Tim | 2011.04.21 at 06:24 AM
How about 自分自信?
Posted by: Penerjemah Mitra Indonesia | 2011.07.19 at 08:32 AM
I think within myself I have a feeling that it's the contrast with the Western approach that makes it stand out, to me it always seemed like they were just being tactful and trying not to offend anyone ..keep it up u did the good job..
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I just found this sight by chance a few days ago and it has already been such a great help for me. The way you set posts out makes it interesting and fun and helps me alot with my japanese! Thank you! :) x
Posted by: Aaron | 2011.08.27 at 12:59 PM
. I guess it is a sort of formal respectful thing that we just don't really do in English.. It was so nice of you sharing the differences of using the word .. I received some training, 'dealing with Japanese people' was one of the classes we got.
Posted by: sports good | 2011.08.29 at 11:09 AM
Hey I have just come back from a trip to Japan, and although I was there 3 months in total I did struggle with the language, although I did pick up bits whilst over there. I have to say that it would have been much better if I had known the language before going.
Posted by: English Translator | 2011.09.04 at 02:29 PM
I'm living in the states and don't speak a lot oweverof Japanese these days so I haven't really noticed the increase..The way you set posts out makes it interesting and fun and helps me alot with my Japanese..
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Very interesting, Maki. Thank you for the post!
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I love the Japanese language.
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Posted by: Gusti Anom | 2011.12.18 at 02:09 AM
Very interesting!!! Especially the jibun translation (for me, it's a very interesting insight to Japanese culture \ speech) and how it relates to mai-buumu (I like learning about modern slang and the use of English words in Japanese :)
plus learned new words for "I" :)
Posted by: Eilonvi | 2012.01.16 at 10:46 AM
also thinking... you could make "mai-buumu" social button for Facebook to express an "extreme-like!!!"
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