我

wǒ

HSK 2.0Level 1

HSK 3.0Level 1

Definitions

wǒ (pronoun) I; me; my

Etymology

Pictograph of a weapon with a forked blade and long handle. The meaning "I; me" is a phonetic loan.

About

我 originally depicted a weapon with a forked blade and long handle, a saw-toothed halberd (戈). Through phonetic loan, it was repurposed as the first-person pronoun "I" or "me", completely losing its weapon meaning. Today it is the standard first-person pronoun, functioning as subject, object, or possessive modifier (with 的). Visually, its modern form combines a hand-like left side with the halberd component on the right, but it is treated as a single indivisible character.

Etymology Hide

Oracle etymology image

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Early Spring and Autumn (~700 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Late Spring and Autumn (~500 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Late Spring and Autumn (~500 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Spring and Autumn (771-476 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Early Warring States (~400 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal etymology image

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我的名字是小明。

Wǒ de míngzì shì Xiǎo Míng.

My name is Xiaoming.

我喜欢吃苹果。

Wǒ xǐhuān chī píngguǒ.

I like to eat apples.

我每天去学校。

Wǒ měitiān qù xuéxiào.

I go to school every day.

我有一个幸福的家庭。

Wǒ yǒu yīgè xìngfú de jiātíng.

I have a happy family.

我们一起学习中文。

Wǒmen yīqǐ xuéxí Zhōngwén.

We study Chinese together.

因为下雨，我留在家里。

Yīnwèi xià yǔ, wǒ liú zài jiālǐ.

Because it's raining, I stay at home.

如果我有多一点时间，我会去旅行。

Rúguǒ wǒ yǒu duō yīdiǎn shíjiān, wǒ huì qù lǚxíng.

If I had more time, I would travel.

虽然我已经学了三年中文，但是我还需要更多练习。

Suīrán wǒ yǐjīng xuéle sān nián Zhōngwén, dànshì wǒ hái xūyào gèng duō liànxí.

Although I have studied Chinese for three years, I still need more practice.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 我

Example Words