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: 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 (“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) holding a weapon (戈) to protect oneself.
Some have suggested a contrast with 爾, 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
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
|
|
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] (in Chinese and Min Nan), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2011.
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
- second person singular pronoun: you
Usage notes
In modern Japanese, most often encountered in the plural forms 我等 (warera) and 我々 (wareware, “we, us”).
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
In modern Japanese, most often encountered in fossilized phrases in combination with the Old Japanese possessive particle が (ga), such as 我が儘 (wagamama, “selfish; selfishness”, literally “just as I like”) or 我が国 (wagakuni, “my country, my homeland → Japan”).
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 ŋɑX).
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
Korean
Etymology
From Middle Chinese 我 (MC ŋɑX).
| 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), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN
- c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 14, poem 3476), 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).