In Japanese there are four levels of speech. A hierarchy system is still deeply ingrained in the Japanese way of speaking, a carry over from the time of Lords, Samurai and smurfs. Err… I mean surfs. In the days of sword wielding justice, a phrase spoken improperly could incur death, so learning ones place and how to speak to others with the proper respect was extremely important.
We can illustrate this with a simple chart. The top is the highest level of politeness, with the bottom being the most informal and a level only used with intimate friends of the same level. This represents the pronoun “I”.
Very Formal……….. わたくし \ わたくし
Formal ………….. 私（わたし）\ 私（わたし）＆ あたくし
Informal………… ぼく \ あたし
Very Informal …. おれ \ X
The left side represents the male speaker while the right is the female.
