我
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Translingual
| Stroke order | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Stroke order | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Stroke order (Taiwan) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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Han character
我 (Kangxi radical 62, 戈+3, 7 strokes, cangjie input 竹手戈 (HQI), four-corner 23550, composition ⿻𠂌戈)
Derived characters
Descendants
- 𛀜 (Hentaigana)
References
- Kangxi Dictionary: page 412, character 1
- Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 11545
- Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1401, character 2
- Unihan data for U+6211
Chinese
| simp. and trad. |
我 | |
|---|---|---|
| alternative forms | ||
Glyph origin
| Historical forms of the character 我 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shang | Western Zhou | Warring States | Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) | Liushutong (compiled in Ming) |
| Oracle bone script | Bronze inscriptions | Chu slip and silk script | Small seal script | Transcribed ancient scripts |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
A pictogram (象形) of a rake-like tool or weapon (note the oracle bone script form); Guo Moruo considers it to be the original character for 錡 (OC *ɡral, “a kind of axe or chisel”). Jao & Zeng (1985, pp. 289–290) conjecture about its similarity to a kind of three-bladed polearm found at archaeological sites; cf. 戈 (gē, “polearm with one blade”). It was already borrowed for sound to mean "I" (in the sense of "first-person subject") since the oracle bone script.
Folk etymology considers it to be an ideograph of a hand (手 (shǒu)) holding a weapon (戈 (gē)) to protect oneself.
Some have suggested a contrast with 爾／尔 (ěr), interpreting the latter as a weapon with tip pointing outward. (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)
Etymology
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ŋa-j ~ ka. Cognate with 吾 (OC *ŋaː), Burmese ငါ (nga, “I”), Hakka 𠊎 (ngài). The expected Mandarin pronunciation is ě (now only found in a few Northern dialects); wǒ is "a col[loquial] archaism" (Schuessler, 2007).
Pronunciation
Definitions
我
Synonyms
- 予 (Classical)
- 余 (Classical)
- 俺 (dialectal Mandarin)
- 僕／仆 (pú) (literary, humble)
- 區區／区区 (qūqū) (literary, humble)
- 台 (Classical)
- 吾 (Classical)
- 妾 (qiè) (archaic, humble, use by women)
- 孤 (gū) (used by emperor)
- 我佬 (Mainland, internet slang)
- 朕 (zhèn) (Classical)
- 爺／爷 (yé) (colloquial, derogatory or familiar)
- 窩／窝 (wō) (Mainland, internet slang)
- 老子 (lǎozi) (colloquial male)
See also
| Standard Mandarin Chinese personal pronouns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Person | Singular | Plural | |
| 1st | — | 我 (wǒ) | 我們／我们 (wǒmen) |
| inclusive | 咱們／咱们 (zánmen) | ||
| 2nd | male/indefinite | 你 (nǐ) | 你們／你们 (nǐmen) |
| female | 妳／你 (nǐ) | 妳們／你们 (nǐmen) | |
| deity | 祢 (nǐ) | 祢們／祢们 (nǐmen) | |
| polite | 您 (nín) | 你們／你们 (nǐmen) 您們／您们 (nínmen) | |
| 3rd | male/indefinite | 他 (tā) | 他們／他们 (tāmen) |
| female | 她 (tā) | 她們／她们 (tāmen) | |
| deity | 祂 (tā) | 祂們／祂们 (tāmen) | |
| animal | 牠／它 (tā) | 牠們／它们 (tāmen) | |
| inanimate | 它 (tā) | 它們／它们 (tāmen) | |
Compounds
- 人我
- 人我是非
- 人棄我取／人弃我取
- 你三我四
- 你丟我撿／你丢我捡
- 你來我往／你来我往
- 你儂我儂／你侬我侬 (nǐnóngwǒnóng)
- 你我 (nǐwǒ)
- 你推我擠／你推我挤
- 你推我讓／你推我让
- 你東我西／你东我西
- 你死我活 (nǐsǐwǒhuó)
- 你爭我奪／你争我夺
- 你知我見／你知我见
- 你誇我逞／你夸我逞
- 你謙我讓／你谦我让
- 你追我趕／你追我赶
- 你長我短／你长我短
- 依然故我
- 做我不著
- 六經註我／六经注我
- 分我杯羹
- 助我張目／助我张目
- 勿忘我 (wùwàngwǒ)
- 匡我不逮
- 卿卿我我 (qīngqīngwǒwǒ)
- 唯我
- 唯我獨尊／唯我独尊 (wéiwǒdúzūn)
- 唯我論／唯我论 (wéiwǒlùn)
- 大我 (dàwǒ)
- 如是我聞／如是我闻 (rúshìwǒwén)
- 宰我
- 小我 (xiǎowǒ)
- 彼我
- 彼眾我寡／彼众我寡 (bǐzhòngwǒguǎ)
- 彼竭我盈 (bǐjiéwǒyíng)
- 彼長我消／彼长我消
- 忘我 (wàngwǒ)
- 惠子知我
- 惟我獨尊／惟我独尊
- 憐我憐卿／怜我怜卿
- 我丈
- 我人 (wǒrén)
- 我倆／我俩 (wǒliǎ)
- 我們／我们
- 我儀／我仪
- 我儂／我侬 (wǒnóng)
- 我咱
- 我國／我国 (wǒguó)
- 我執／我执
- 我家
- 我將／我将
- 我山
- 我師／我师
- 我師禽／我师禽
- 我慢 (wǒmàn)
- 我所
- 我方 (wǒfāng)
- 我曹 (wǒcáo)
- 我武維揚／我武维扬
- 我每 (wǒměi)
- 我生
- 我的天 (wǒ de tiān)
- 我相
- 我私
- 我肏 (wǒ cào)
- 我自
- 我行
- 我行其野
- 我行我素 (wǒxíngwǒsù)
- 我見／我见
- 我見猶憐／我见犹怜
- 我負子戴／我负子戴
- 我身
- 我躬
- 我軍／我军 (wǒjūn)
- 我輩／我辈 (wǒbèi)
- 我郎
- 我醉欲眠
- 我黼子佩
- 捨我其誰／舍我其谁 (shěwǒqíshéi)
- 操之在我
- 故我
- 敵眾我寡／敌众我寡 (dízhòngwǒguǎ)
- 日不我與／日不我与
- 是非人我
- 時不我待／时不我待 (shíbùwǒdài)
- 時不我與／时不我与 (shíbùwǒyǔ)
- 有你沒我／有你没我
- 有我無人／有我无人
- 梵我一如
- 正合我意
- 歲不我與／岁不我与 (suìbùwǒyǔ)
- 毋我
- 法我見／法我见
- 渾然忘我／浑然忘我
- 為我／为我
- 無奈我何／无奈我何
- 無我／无我 (wúwǒ)
- 爾虞我詐／尔虞我诈 (ěryúwǒzhà)
- 爾詐我虞／尔诈我虞
- 物我
- 物我無間／物我无间
- 生我劬勞／生我劬劳
- 盡其在我／尽其在我
- 真我
- 知我
- 知我罪我
- 神我
- 私我
- 給我記住／给我记住
- 老我
- 自我 (zìwǒ)
- 自我中心 (zìwǒ zhōngxīn)
- 自我介紹／自我介绍 (zìwǒ jièshào)
- 自我作古
- 自我作故
- 自我反省 (zìwǒ fǎnxǐng)
- 自我吹噓／自我吹嘘
- 自我實現／自我实现
- 自我批評／自我批评 (zìwǒ pīpíng)
- 自我教育
- 自我期許／自我期许
- 自我肯定
- 自我表現／自我表现 (zìwǒ biǎoxiàn)
- 自我解嘲
- 自我陶醉
- 至公無我／至公无我
- 舊我／旧我
- 舍我其誰／舍我其谁 (shěwǒqíshéi)
- 舍我復誰／舍我复谁
- 誤我／误我
- 超我 (chāowǒ)
- 還我河山／还我河山
- 非我
- 非我族類／非我族类
- 頗我／颇我
- 額我略曆／额我略历
- 鮑子知我／鲍子知我
Descendants
Others:
References
- “我”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database), 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
- Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), A01473
- “Entry #3153”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2023.
Japanese
Etymology 1
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 我 |
| われ Grade: 6 |
| kun’yomi |
| Alternative spellings |
|---|
| 我 吾 |
From Old Japanese,[1] as the long form of 我 (wa) below.
Compound of 我 (wa, see below) + れ (-re, nominalizing suffix).
Pronoun
我 • (ware)
- first person singular pronoun: I, me, oneself
- (usually vulgar) second person singular pronoun: you
Usage notes
Derived terms
See also
| a-/wa- “I, we” (first person) |
na-/-ma- “you, ye, thou” (second person) |
k- “this” (close to speaker) |
s- “that” (close to listener) |
a-/ka- “that over there” (far from both) |
i-/ta-/nani- “who, what, where, how, when” (interrogative) |
ono- “oneself” (reflexive) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | あ (a) あれ (are) わ (wa) われ (ware) まろ (maro) |
な (na) なれ (nare) なんぢ (nanji) まし (mashi) いまし (imashi) みまし (mimashi) きみ (kimi) |
こ (ko) これ (kore) |
そ (so) それ (sore) |
あ (a) あれ (are) か (ka) かれ (kare) |
た (ta) たれ (tare) なにがし (nanigashi) |
おの (ono) おのれ (onore) |
| Thing | こ (ko) これ (kore) |
そ (so) それ (sore) |
あ (a) あれ (are) か (ka) かれ (kare) |
いづれ (izure) なに (nani) |
|||
| Location | ここ (koko) | そこ (soko) | あしこ (ashiko) かしこ (kashiko) |
いづく (izuku) いづこ (izuko) いどこ (idoko) どこ (doko) |
|||
| Direction | こち (kochi) こなた (konata) |
そち (sochi) そなた (sonata) |
あち (achi) あなた (anata) かなた (kanata) |
いづち (izuchi) いづら (izura) いづかた (izukata) |
|||
| Manner | か (ka) かく (kaku) かくて (kakute) かう (kō) |
さ (sa) さて (sate) しか (shika) |
いか (ika) | ||||
| Time | いつ (itsu) |
Etymology 2
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 我 |
| わ Grade: 6 |
| kun’yomi |
| Alternative spellings |
|---|
| 我 吾 |
From Old Japanese 我 (wa).[1]
Pronoun
我 • (wa)
- (obsolete or dialect) first-person personal pronoun: I, me
- 棟方志功
- わだばゴッホになる
- wa daba gohho ni naru
- (Aomori) I'll be a Gogh
- わだばゴッホになる
- 棟方志功
Usage notes
See also
| a-/wa- “I, we” (first person) |
na-/-ma- “you, ye, thou” (second person) |
k- “this” (close to speaker) |
s- “that” (close to listener) |
a-/ka- “that over there” (far from both) |
i-/ta-/nani- “who, what, where, how, when” (interrogative) |
ono- “oneself” (reflexive) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | あ (a) あれ (are) わ (wa) われ (ware) まろ (maro) |
な (na) なれ (nare) なんぢ (nanji) まし (mashi) いまし (imashi) みまし (mimashi) きみ (kimi) |
こ (ko) これ (kore) |
そ (so) それ (sore) |
あ (a) あれ (are) か (ka) かれ (kare) |
た (ta) たれ (tare) なにがし (nanigashi) |
おの (ono) おのれ (onore) |
| Thing | こ (ko) これ (kore) |
そ (so) それ (sore) |
あ (a) あれ (are) か (ka) かれ (kare) |
いづれ (izure) なに (nani) |
|||
| Location | ここ (koko) | そこ (soko) | あしこ (ashiko) かしこ (kashiko) |
いづく (izuku) いづこ (izuko) いどこ (idoko) どこ (doko) |
|||
| Direction | こち (kochi) こなた (konata) |
そち (sochi) そなた (sonata) |
あち (achi) あなた (anata) かなた (kanata) |
いづち (izuchi) いづら (izura) いづかた (izukata) |
|||
| Manner | か (ka) かく (kaku) かくて (kakute) かう (kō) |
さ (sa) さて (sate) しか (shika) |
いか (ika) | ||||
| Time | いつ (itsu) |
Etymology 3
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 我 |
| わ(が) Grade: 6 |
| kun’yomi |
| For pronunciation and definitions of 我 – see the following entry. | ||
| ||
| (This term, 我, is an alternative spelling of the above term.) |
Etymology 4
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 我 |
| あ Grade: 6 |
| kun’yomi |
| For pronunciation and definitions of 我 – see the following entry. | ||
| ||
| (This term, 我, is an alternative spelling of the above term.) |
Etymology 5
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 我 |
| あれ Grade: 6 |
| kun’yomi |
| For pronunciation and definitions of 我 – see the following entry. | ||
| ||
| (This term, 我, is an alternative spelling of the above term.) |
Etymology 6
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 我 |
| が Grade: 6 |
| on’yomi |
From Middle Chinese 我 (MC ngaX).
The Buddhist senses are a translation of Sanskrit आत्मन् (ātman, “self”).
Noun
我 • (ga)
Derived terms
- 我が強い (ga ga tsuyoi)
- 我を折る (ga o oru)
- 我を立てる (ga o tateru)
- 我を通す (ga o tōsu)
- 我を張る (ga o haru)
- 我を折る (ga o oru)
Derived terms
References
- Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
- Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN
Korean
Etymology
From Middle Chinese 我 (MC ngaX).
| Historical Readings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dongguk Jeongun Reading | ||
| Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 | ᅌᅡᆼ〯 (Yale: ngǎ) | |
| Middle Korean | ||
| Text | Eumhun | |
| Gloss (hun) | Reading | |
| Hunmong Jahoe, 1527 | 나 (Yale: nà) | 아〯 (Yale: ǎ) |
Pronunciation
- (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [a̠(ː)]
- Phonetic hangul: [아(ː)]
- Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.
Compounds
Old Japanese
Alternative forms
Etymology 1
From Proto-Japonic *wa.
Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:我.
Derived terms
- 我が (waga)
Descendants
- Japanese: 我 (wa)
Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:我.
Descendants
- Japanese: 我 (ware)
Pronoun
我 (waro2) (kana わろ)
- (regional, Southern Eastern Old Japanese) first person singular pronoun: I, me
Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:我.
Etymology 4
The eastern variant of 我 (ware).[1] Appears to be 我 (wa) + ぬ (nu), appearing here not as the negative verb auxiliary but rather as a suffixing element of uncertain meaning. Appears in the Man'yōshū, volume 14 poem 3476.[2]
Pronoun
我 (wanu) (kana わぬ)
- (regional, Northern Eastern Old Japanese) first person personal pronoun: I, me, oneself
Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:我.
Etymology 5
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:我.
Derived terms
- 我が (aga)
Descendants
- Japanese: あ (a)
Etymology 6
From 我 (a, see above) + れ (-re, nominalizing suffix).
Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:我.
Descendants
- Japanese: あれ (are)
References
- “我・吾”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”) (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
- , text available online here
Vietnamese
Han character
我: Hán Việt readings: ngã[1][2][3][4], ngả (
我: Nôm readings: ngả[1][2][3][6][5][4][7], ngã[1][2][3][5][4][7]
References
- Nguyễn (2014).
- Nguyễn et al. (2009).
- Trần (2004).
- Génibrel (1898).
- Bonet (1899).
- Hồ (1976).
- Taberd & Pigneau de Béhaine (1838).