我われ々われ

わ

れ

わ

れ

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 2,000

Meanings

1

pronoun

we; we as a group; we ourselves

First-person plural pronoun. Compared with 私たち, it sounds more formal, serious, collective, or rhetorical, and is often used for an organization, research group, nation, or speaker's side.

我われ々われはこの問もん題だいを慎しん重ちょうに検けん討とうする必ひつ要ようがある。
We need to examine this issue carefully.
我

われ

々われ

の

チーム

は

新あたら

しい

方ほう

法ほう

を

試ため

し

た

。

Our team tried a new method.

Written forms

我われ々われUsage38%
Standard and common spelling; this form is high priority.
われわれUsage61%
Kana spelling is understandable and sometimes used, but the kanji form 我々 is the normal learner-facing spelling.
吾われ々われUsage1%
Attested variant using 吾; much less common than 我々 and has an old-fashioned or literary feel.
我われ我われUsage<1%
Attested spelling without the iteration mark; useful for lookup, but 我々 is the practical standard form.
ワレワレUsage<1%
吾われ吾われ
Attested rare variant without the iteration mark; mainly useful for lookup.

Kanji

我ego, I, selfish
吾I, my, our

Similar words

私わたしたち
The most general and neutral way to say "we"; 我々 is more formal, collective, or emphatic.
僕ぼくたち
Casual first-person plural, often used by male speakers or in a softer informal tone; less formal than 我々.
私わたくしども
Humble and very polite, common in customer service or business when referring to one's own side; 我々 is formal but not especially humble.

Etymology

A reduplicated form of 我／吾 read われ, meaning "I" or "me"; the repetition gives the plural sense "we." The common spelling uses 々 as the iteration mark.