Quote:
Originally Posted by KyleGoetz
The first means "I understand." The second means "I don't understand." The third means "I understood." There is no "female form vs. male form" in what you listed. You absolutely cannot substitute any of these three for the another.
And, no, "boku" and "anata" are not male and female forms. Females use "boku" and males use "anata" too, and they don't even mean the same thing! "Boku" means "I" and "anata" means "you."
Furthermore, almost no one ever uses "anata" except with a spouse.
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I do hear 'anata' used quite often. It's kind of understood that it's a bit condescending though-- but maybe in an... almost 'friendly' kind of way. That can go beyond spouses and into the workplace as well. Of course it can be used in a rude way though... and in most situations it'd probably be rude to use it. It's kind of like 'omae' or 'kimi'. You shouldn't really use it with people who are 'outside' of your circle so to speak. And even within your circle, depending on your position you could or could not get away with saying it without being rude.
A feminine way of saying " I " would be "Atashi" or "Uchi" or even " (your own name)". The latter of those choices speaking in 'the third person' of course. Which seems strange coming from an English perspective. That takes us back to "anata" though. As Kyle pointed out, it's not really a safe way to go-- the safe route is to refer to the person by their name, even when they're right in front of you.