• 私わたし — I, me (neutral/formal)
• 私わたくし — I, me (very formal)
• 私立しりつ — private (institution)
• 私事しじ — personal matters
• 私有しゆう — private ownership
• 私生活しせいかつ — private life

The kanji 私 combines 禾 (grain) and ム (private/self), originally representing a claim to a personal share of grain. Over time, it came to mean "private" and "personal," and eventually became the standard character for referring to oneself (わたし or わたくし).

It’s one of the first-person pronouns in Japanese and is common in both spoken and written language. The on-yomi シ appears often in compound nouns related to privacy and ownership.

私わたしは 日本にほんの文化ぶんかに 興味きょうみがあります。
I’m interested in Japanese culture.

この学校がっこうは 私立しりつです。
This school is privately operated.

“わたし” is the most common neutral pronoun for "I" in Japanese. “わたくし” is a more formal version used in polite speech or business. The on-yomi “シ” appears in compound words like 私立 and 私生活.