I wish I could understand Japanese

Homophones are even worse in Chinese, as every character has only one syllable, whereas some Kanji words have multiple syllables. For example, 私 is "si" in Mandarin, but it is "watashi" in Japanese? As stated before, the context of the conversation is crucial to understanding.

*wishes Chinese was easier to learn >:[*

But does Chinese have two different pronunciations for each character? Because it can be read in Japanese as watashi OR just shi, depending on how it'sused. To me, that's a lot more complex that each character having one syllable.

And, I'm just wondering... In Japanese, what's the difference between 私 and 我?

私 is "me", while 我 is "us", as a group.

In case you're wondering, 我 can be "ga" or "ware" depending on how it's used. One character with two completely different pronunciations.

Edit: Ah, thinking about it, I see what your question means. 自我 (shiga) can be used as "me" as well, but it sounds more like the person is asserting superiority when they say this.