俺

俺 U+4FFA, 俺 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4FFA ← 俹 [U+4FF9] CJK Unified Ideographs 俻 → [U+4FFB]

Translingual

Han character

俺 (radical 9, 人+8, 10 strokes, cangjie input 人大中山 (OKLU), four-corner 2421₆, composition ⿰亻奄)

References

• KangXi: page 106, character 21
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 736
• Dae Jaweon: page 227, character 4
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 1, page 173, character 2
• Unihan data for U+4FFA

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Chinese

Etymology 1

simp. and trad.		俺

Fusion of 我們／我们 (wǒmen) (Lü, 1984; Norman, 1988).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): ǎn (an³)

  (Zhuyin): ㄢˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): jim³, aan²
• Wu (Wiktionary): oe (T2)

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: ǎn
    • Zhuyin: ㄢˇ
    • Wade–Giles: an³
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: aan
    • Tongyong Pinyin: ǎn
    • IPA ^(key): /ˀän²¹⁴/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: jim³, aan²
    • Yale: yim, áan
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jim³, aan²
    • Guangdong Romanization: yim³, an²
    • IPA ^(key): /jiːm³³/, /äːn³⁵/

Note: The zero initial /∅-/ is commonly pronounced with a ng-initial /ŋ-/ in some varieties of Cantonese, including Hong Kong Cantonese.

• Wu
  • (Shanghainese)
    • Wiktionary: oe (T2)
    • IPA ^(key): /ø³⁴/

Definitions

俺

1. (dialectal Mandarin) I; me; my
2. (dialectal Mandarin, exclusive) we; us; our

Compounds

• 俺們／俺们 (ǎnmen)

Etymology 2

simp. and trad.		俺
variant forms		安

Pronunciation

• Min Nan (POJ): án / an

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• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: án
    • Tâi-lô: án
    • Phofsit Daibuun: arn
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /an⁴¹/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei): /an⁵³/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: an
    • Tâi-lô: an
    • Phofsit Daibuun: afn
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /an³³/

Definitions

俺

1. (Hokkien, honorific) Prefix for kinship terms.

   俺公 [Min Nan]  ―  án-kong [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  grandpa

2. (Taiwanese Hokkien, inclusive) Synonym of 咱 (lán, “we; us”).

Compounds

• 俺二仔
• 俺公
• 俺姊

• 俺媽／俺妈
• 俺母
• 俺爸

• 俺爹
• 俺祖

Etymology 3

simp. and trad.		俺

Cognate with Hokkien 咱 (lán).

Pronunciation

• Min Nan (Teochew, Peng'im): nang²

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• Min Nan
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: nang²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: náng
    • IPA ^(key): /naŋ⁵²/

Definitions

俺

1. (Teochew, inclusive) we; us

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 咱們 (“we; us (inclusive)”) [map]
Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		咱們, 你我
Mandarin	Beijing	咱們, 咱
	Taiwan	咱們, 咱
	Jinan	咱們, 咱, 咱這伙
	Xi'an	咱
	Wuhan	我們 †
	Chengdu	我們 †
	Yangzhou	我們 †
	Hefei	我們 †
Cantonese	Guangzhou	我哋 †
	Hong Kong	我哋 †
	Taishan	我 †
	Yangjiang	偔 †
Gan	Nanchang	我個裡 †, 我們 †
Hakka	Meixian	𠊎等人 †, 𠊎等 †, 齊儕
	Xingning	𠊎齊家
	Huidong (Daling)	𠊎俚
	Qujiang	𠊎俚
	Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang)	𠊎俚
	Changting	𠊎等人
	Pingyu	𠊎等人 †, 𠊎兜 †
	Wuping	𠊎嫩人 †
	Liancheng	𠊎大沙
	Ninghua	𠊎人 †
	Yudu	𠊎尼
	Ruijin	𠊎班
	Shicheng	𠊎人
	Shangyou	𠊎子人 †
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	𫣆兜, 𫣆這兜, 𫣆俚, 𫣆
	Liudui (S. Sixian)	𠊎等 †, 𠊎等人 †
	Hsinchu (Hailu)	𫣆俚, 吾俚, 𠊎俚, 𫣆兜, 𫣆這兜, 𫣆
	Dongshi (Dabu)	𫣆等, 𫣆這兜, 𫣆
	Hsinchu (Raoping)	𫣆兜, 𫣆這兜, 𫣆俚
	Yunlin (Zhao'an)	𫣆人, 𫣆
Jin	Taiyuan	咱們, 咱
Min Bei	Jian'ou	俺伙人, 俺人
Min Dong	Fuzhou	儂家各儂, 儂家, 儂家儂
Min Nan	Xiamen	咱, 咱人
	Quanzhou	咱, 咱人
	Zhangzhou	咱, 咱人
	Taipei	咱
	Penang	咱, 咱人
	Philippines (Manila)	咱
	Chaozhou	咱
Wu	Shanghai	阿拉 †, 我伲 †, 伲 †
	Suzhou	伲 †
	Wenzhou	卬你, 卬你倈
Xiang	Changsha	我們 †
	Shuangfeng	我哩 †, 卬哩 †
Note	† - no distinction of clusivity

Etymology 4

simp. and trad.		俺

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): yàn (yan⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄧㄢˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): jim³

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: yàn
    • Zhuyin: ㄧㄢˋ
    • Wade–Giles: yen⁴
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yann
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yàn
    • IPA ^(key): /jɛn⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: jim³
    • Yale: yim
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jim³
    • Guangdong Romanization: yim³
    • IPA ^(key): /jiːm³³/

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• Middle Chinese: /ʔˠiᴇm^H/, /ʔɨɐm^H/▼

Rime
Character	俺	俺
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Initial (聲)	影 (34)	影 (34)
Final (韻)	鹽 (154)	嚴 (145)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	Chongniu III	III
Fanqie	於驗切	於劔切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ʔˠiᴇmH/	/ʔɨɐmH/
Pan Wuyun	/ʔᵚiɛmH/	/ʔiɐmH/
Shao Rongfen	/ʔiæmH/	/ʔiɐmH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ʔjiamH/	/ʔɨamH/
Li Rong	/ʔjɛmH/	/ʔiɐmH/
Wang Li	/ĭɛmH/	/ĭɐmH/
Bernard Karlgren	/ʔi̯ɛmH/	/ʔi̯ɐmH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	yàn	yàn

Definitions

俺

1. ^† large

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Japanese

Kanji

俺

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: えん (en)^{←えん (en, historical)←えむ (emu, ancient)}
• Kan-on: えん (en)^{←えん (en, historical)←えむ (emu, ancient)}
• Kun: おれ (ore, 俺, Jōyō); われ (ware, 俺)

Etymology

Kanji in this term
俺
おれ Grade: S
kun’yomi

From Old Japanese. Originally a second person pronoun, as used in the Kojiki of 712 CE. Gradually changed into a first person pronoun from roughly the Kamakura and Muromachi periods.

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) おれ [òré] (Heiban – [0])
  • IPA^(key): [o̞ɾe̞]

Alternative forms

• 己 (I, me)
• 爾 (you)
• 儞 (you)

Pronoun

俺 (hiragana おれ, rōmaji ore)

1. (informal, men's speech) I, me
   • 1997 December 20 [Oct 15 1997], Matsuura, Tokihiko, “第だい１話わ　初はつ恋こい [Chapter 1: First Love]”, in タキシード銀 [Tuxedo Gin], volume 1 (fiction), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN, page 32:

     お、俺 (おれ)が俺 (おれ)を俺 (おれ)の上 (うえ)から見 (み)つめている俺 (おれ)は誰 (だれ)？俺 (おれ)⁉あれも俺 (おれ)！俺 (おれ)も俺 (おれ)⁉

     O, ore ga ore o ore no ue kara mitsumete iru ore wa dare? Ore⁉ Are mo ore! Ore mo ore⁉

     Wh-Who am I who am looking at me from above me? Me⁉ That’s me! But I’m also me⁉

   • 2001 January 23, Kurumada, Masami, “女神アテナの聖闘士セイントの巻まき [Athena’s Saints]”, in Saintセイント星セイ矢ヤ [Saint Seiya], volume 1 (fiction), Tokyo: Shueisha, →ISBN, page 20:

     これがオレの小 (コ)宇 (ス)宙 (モ)だぁ‼

     Kore ga ore no Kosumo dā‼

     This is my Cosmo‼

   • 2001 August 6 [Apr 23 2001], Kurumada, Masami, “少しょう年ねんたちよ！女神アテナを託たくすの巻まき [Boys! For Athena]”, in Saintセイント星セイ矢ヤ [Saint Seiya], volume 4 (fiction), 5th edition, Tokyo: Shueisha, →ISBN, page 222:

     オレは山羊座 (カプリコーン)のシュラ‼

     Ore wa Kapurikōn no Shura‼

     I am Shura the Capricorn‼

2. (obsolete, informal) you

Usage notes

• This is an example of a word that can be spelled with katakana to convey an informal conversational tone, as オレ.
• This usual casual form of self-address used by men, and is completely acceptable among friends; 僕 or 私 are too formal for such casual use. Conversely, in polite conversation or where polite forms are expected, 俺 is unacceptable and rude. As with other casual forms, may be used intentionally if one wishes to be rude, but should not be used otherwise.

See also

Japanese first-person pronouns

Japanese first-person pronouns by speakers and situations according to Yuko Saegusa, Concerning the First Personal Pronoun of Native Japanese Speakers (2009)

First-person pronouns by elementary school pupils (2008)

Speaker	Situation	1	2	3
Female	To friends	うち 49%	First name 26%	あたし 15%
	In the family	First name 33%	あたし 29%	うち 23%
	In a class	わたし 86%	あたし 7%	うち 6%
	To an unknown visitor	わたし 75%	あたし, first name, うち 8% each
	To the class teacher	わたし 66%	First name 13%	あたし 9%
Male	To friends	おれ 72%	ぼく 19%	First name 4%
	In the family	おれ 62%	ぼく 23%	うち 6%
	In a class	ぼく 85%	おれ 13%	First name, nickname 1% each
	To an unknown visitor	ぼく 64%	おれ 26%	First name 4%
	To the class teacher	ぼく 67%	おれ 27%	First name 3%

First-person pronouns by university students (2009)

Speaker	Situation	1	2	3
Female	To friends	うち 39%	あたし 30%	わたし 22%
	In the family	あたし 28%	First name 27%	うち 18%
	In a class	わたし 89%	あたし 7%	自分 3%
	To an unknown visitor	わたし 81%	あたし 10%	自分 6%
	To the class teacher	わたし 77%	あたし 17%	自分 7%
Male	To friends	おれ 87%	うち 4%	わたし, 自分 2% each
	In the family	おれ 88%	ぼく, 自分 5% each
	In a class	わたし 48%	自分 28%	ぼく 22%
	To an unknown visitor	ぼく 36%	自分 29%	わたし 22%
	To the class teacher	自分 38%	ぼく 29%	わたし 22%

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Korean

Hanja

俺 • (eom, am) (hangeul 엄, 암)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

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Vietnamese

Han character

俺 (em, yêm, êm)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

References

• Nom Foundation