() — I; me; my (first-person singular pronoun)

Definition

我 is the everyday 'I / me / my' pronoun. 我们 adds 们 for 'we / us'; 自己 is the reflexive 'myself' used when the subject acts on itself.

pronoun
Imemy (first-person singular pronoun)

Examples

  • wǒ Bā suì le.
    I am eight years old.
  • Mā ma gěi wǒ yí gè píng guǒ.
    Mom gave me an apple.
  • wǒ De māo hěn xiǎo.
    My cat is very small.

Origin

Pictograph
六书liùshū
象形xiàngxíng

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

The glyph 我 originally drew a trident-like weapon. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write the pronoun "I", so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

Grammar

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