ChiramiWhy Japanese people point at their nose (自 鼻)
In Japan, when people mean “me”, they point at their own nose, not at their chest. There’s a nose in the kanji too: 自 (ji), self, as in 自分 (jibun), oneself, began as a drawing of a nose, and 鼻 (hana), the kanji for nose today, still has 自 sitting on top.
What the kanji say
自 (ji) means self. Its oldest forms, carved more than 3,000 years ago, are a picture of a nose, and that first meaning is long gone. Today it’s the “self” in 自分 (jibun), oneself, 自動 (jidou), automatic, literally “self-moving”, and 自転車 (jitensha), a bicycle, a “self-turning vehicle”. In 自然 (shizen), nature, it’s read shi.
鼻 (hana) means nose. It’s 自 on top, giving the meaning, with 畀 underneath, giving the sound. When 自 came to mean “self”, the nose needed a kanji of its own, and adding a sound part to the old picture made one.
Where it really comes from
How does a nose come to mean “self”? Nobody knows for sure. The popular explanation is the gesture: people pointed at their nose when they meant themselves, so a drawing of a nose came to stand for the person behind it. Wiktionary calls that folk etymology and gives another answer: in Old Chinese, the word for “self” sounded close to the word for “nose”, so the picture of a nose was borrowed to write it for its sound. Either way, 鼻 took over the job of meaning “nose”.
The gesture itself is real. In China, people often point at their nose when they mean themselves, and so do Japanese people. It may not explain the kanji, but it’s a very good way to remember it.
One more kanji keeps the old nose. 息 (iki), breath, began as 自 with lines of breath going into it, and those lines were later rewritten as 心, heart.
How to use it
私ですか？
Watashi desu ka?
Me? (pointing at your nose)
自分でやります。
Jibun de yarimasu.
I'll do it myself.
自転車で来ました。
Jitensha de kimashita.
I came by bike.
鼻水が止まらない。
Hanamizu ga tomaranai.
My nose won't stop running.
娘が合格して、鼻が高いです。
Musume ga goukaku shite, hana ga takai desu.
My daughter passed her exams, and I'm so proud.
- The gesture: if someone calls out and you’re not sure they mean you, point at your nose with your index finger and ask 私？ (watashi?). In Western countries people tend to point at their chest instead.
- 自分 (jibun) is “oneself”, but it can mean “I” too, and in the Kansai region, around Osaka, it can even mean “you”.
- 鼻が高い (hana ga takai), “the nose is high”, means to feel proud, for example when your child does well.
- 自 can also mean “from” in formal writing, though you’ll mostly meet it as “self”.
Words with the same kanji
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 自分 | jibun | oneself; I, me |
| 自転車 | jitensha | bicycle |
| 自動 | jidou | automatic |
| 自然 | shizen | nature |
| 鼻水 | hanamizu | runny nose |
| 耳鼻科 | jibika | ear, nose and throat clinic |
Remember it
Point at your nose and say “me”: your finger is pointing at 自. Hang a sound part under it, and you get the nose itself, 鼻.
The kanji in this lesson
Tap Draw it to watch the stroke order. Numbers show where each stroke starts.