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
    • IPA ^(key): /ˀa̠n²¹⁴/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: jim³, aan²
    • Yale: yim, áan
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jim³, aan²
    • Guangdong Romanization: yim³, an²
    • IPA ^(key): /jiːm³³/, /ɑːn³⁵/

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, mainstream 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. (Min Nan, honorific) Prefix for kinship terms.

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

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

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	𠊎俚
	Qujiang	𠊎俚
	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 †
	Hsinchu (Hailu)	𫣆俚、吾俚、𫣆兜、𫣆這兜、𫣆
	Dongshi (Dabu)	𫣆等、𫣆這兜、𫣆
	Zhuolan (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
    • IPA ^(key): /i̯ɛn⁵¹/
• 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

• Goon: 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)

Alternative forms

• 乃公
• 爾
• 儞
• 己

Etymology

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

Originally a second person pronoun. Gradually changed into a first person pronoun.

Pronunciation

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

Pronoun

俺 (hiragana おれ, katakana オレ, rōmaji ore)

1. (obsolete, informal) you
2. (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, in Japanese), 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, in Japanese), 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, in Japanese), 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‼

Usage notes

• This is an example of a word that can be spelled with katakana to convey an informal conversational tone.
• This word is the usual casual form used by men, and is completely acceptable with friends; 僕 or 私 are too formal for 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, eop) (hangeul 엄, 업)

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