1.
oneself; one's own will; self
Archaic and literary first-person pronoun, surviving in modern Japanese almost exclusively in fixed idioms. Refers to the self, especially one's own desires or will.
Archaic first-person pronoun preserved in a small set of fixed expressions. Not used productively in modern Japanese — learners encounter it only in these idioms or in formal/literary writing.
Common expressions
- 我を通す: to have one's way; to insist on one's own view
- 我を張る: to be stubborn; to refuse to yield
- 我を忘れる: to forget oneself; to lose oneself (in an activity or emotion)
- 我に返る: to come to one's senses
Pronunciation
The same kanji 我 is also read われ (similarly archaic/literary, used as a stand-alone pronoun) and が (in compounds like 我儘 selfish). The reading わ specifically appears in the idioms above.