私、可愛い？
watashi, kawaii?
The English phrase "am I pretty?" is translated into Japanese as 私、可愛い？ (watashi, kawaii?)
This phrase is used to ask whether one is attractive or cute.
Which one should you use?
While 私、可愛い？ asks if one is cute, the formal version 私は美しいですか？ specifically asks "Am I beautiful?" and 私はきれいですか？ asks "Am I pretty?" In informal settings, you can also use 私って綺麗？ to ask "Am I pretty?" or 私って可愛い？ to ask "Am I cute?"
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The casual form is 私、可愛い？ To make the question polite, you can add desu ka to the end, resulting in 私、可愛いですか？ Formal ways to ask the same thing include 私は美しいですか？ (Am I beautiful?) and 私はきれいですか？ (Am I pretty?).
How does it change in a sentence?
In the casual phrase 私、可愛い？, the particle wa (the topic marker) is omitted, which is a common practice in spoken Japanese.
How do you pronounce it?
watashi, kawaii?
Did you know?
- The adjective 可愛い 'kawaii' is believed by some linguists to be related to the word 可哀想 'kawaisou', meaning 'pitiful' or 'poor thing'.
- While きれい 'kirei' means 'pretty', it is also the primary word for 'clean'. A room can be きれい just as a person can be.
- In Japanese pop culture, a girl asking 私、可愛い？ (Am I cute?) is often a way to perform a specific, exaggerated persona known as 'burikko', which involves acting intentionally infantile or sweet to appear charming.
Examples in context
- ねえ、私って綺麗？Hey, am I pretty?
- 私、可愛い？Watashi, kawaii?Am I pretty?
- ねえ、私、可愛い？Nee, watashi, kawaii?Hey, am I cute?
- 今の私、可愛い？Ima no watashi, kawaii?Am I cute right now?
Example conversation
Misaki is checking her appearance in a mirror before a date with Ren.
- 美咲 Misaki蓮、私、可愛い？Ren, watashi, kawaii?Ren, am I pretty?
- 蓮 Renうん、すごく可愛いよ。Un, sugoku kawaii yo.Yeah, you're very cute.
- 美咲 Misaki本当？よかった！Honto? Yokatta!Really? I'm glad!
- 蓮 Ren最高のドレスだね。Saikou no doresu da ne.It's a wonderful dress.
