私は女の子です
watashi wa onnanoko desu
The Japanese phrase for "I am a girl" is 私は女の子です (watashi wa onnanoko desu).
This phrase is used by a female child or young person to identify their gender.
What does it mean word for word?
私 (watashi) is the standard, polite way to say "I". The particle は (wa) is a topic marker that marks the preceding word as the topic of the sentence. 女の子 (onnanoko) means "girl" and is composed of onna (woman/female) and ko (child). Finally, です (desu) functions as a copula meaning "is/am/are" and provides a polite tone to the sentence.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
You can use the informal Watashi wa onnanoko. to say the same thing. For a more casual and feminine sound, you can replace watashi with atashi to say あたしは女の子です.
How does it change in a sentence?
To change the sentence to the past tense to say "I was a girl", replace です with でした.
How do you pronounce it?
watashi wa onnanoko desu
Did you know?
- In Japanese children's literature, young girls sometimes refer to themselves in the third person by using their own name instead of 私.
- In very formal or old-fashioned contexts, a girl might use わたくし (watakushi) instead of わたし (watashi) to sound extremely humble or refined.
- While 私 is the standard 'I', many young girls in casual settings omit the word 'I' entirely and simply say 女の子です, as the subject is implied by context.
Examples in context
- 私は女の子です。Watashi wa onnanoko desu.I am a girl.
- はい、私は女の子です。Hai, watashi wa onnanoko desu.Yes, I am a girl.
- 私は女の子です。よろしくお願いします。Watashi wa onnanoko desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.I am a girl. Nice to meet you.
Example conversation
Kenta and Misaki are introduced to each other at a park.
- 美咲 Misakiはじめまして。私は女の子です。Hajimemashite. Watashi wa onnanoko desu.Nice to meet you. I am a girl.
- 健太 Kentaはじめまして。僕は健太です。Hajimemashite. Boku wa Kenta desu.Nice to meet you. I am Kenta.
- 美咲 Misaki私は美咲です。よろしくね。Watashi wa Misaki desu. Yoroshiku ne.I am Misaki. Nice to meet you.
- 健太 Kentaよろしくね、美咲ちゃん。Yoroshiku ne, Misaki-chan.Nice to meet you, Misaki.
