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JF Ossan
 
Posts: 12,200
Join Date: Jun 2007
01-20-2009, 04:26 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by kirakira View Post
You don't really have a choice.

For formal setting, use わたし
For informal setting where you don't know the person well, use ぼく
For people you know well and is of a equal or lower status, use おれ
If you feel macho, you can use おれさま

If you use ぼく with people you know well, then you might sound a bit kiddish but it's miles better than ぼくちゃん.

Again, the general rule of thumb is to avoid pronouns if you could help it.
All true...my only comment would be this is true for native speakers of Japanese. Unless you are a fluent speaker of Japanese, I wouldn't mess with おれ. Think Jackie Chan in "Rush Hour" trying to look natural saying "What's up, Ni**a?" at the bar. You can sometimes look like that if you don't know what you are doing.

I would add that わたし does not sound feminine and ぼく does not sound childish.
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