Hokkien pronouns
Hokkien pronouns pose some difficulty to speakers of English due to their complexity. The Hokkien language use a variety of differing demonstrative and interrogative pronouns, and many of them are only with slightly different meanings.
Basic personal pronouns
The plural personal pronouns tend to be nasalized forms of the singular ones.
| |
Singular |
Plural |
|---|
|
Chinese character |
vernacular / colloquial |
literary |
Chinese character |
vernacular / colloquial |
literary |
| First person |
我 | góa | ngó͘ | 阮 | goán / gún (exclusive) | - |
| 俺 | án (possessive determiner) | - | 咱 | lán (inclusive) | - |
| Second person |
汝 | lí | lú | 恁 | lín | - |
| Third person |
伊 | i | i | 𪜶 | in | - |
List of Hokkien personal pronouns
| Pe̍h-ōe-jī |
Hàn-jī |
Level of speech |
Gender |
Grammatical number |
Notes |
| – first person – |
| chū-kí |
自己 |
formal, written |
neutral |
singular |
|
| góa |
我 |
formal / informal |
neutral |
singular |
|
| góa-lâng |
我儂 |
informal |
neutral |
plural |
儂 (-lâng) is typically suffixed for plural in Southeast Asian Hokkien dialects. (see also list of pluralising suffixes, below) |
| goán |
阮 |
formal / informal |
neutral |
plural |
Inclusive |
| gún |
阮 |
informal |
females, rarely males |
singular |
阮 (gún only, not goán) is typically used in Taiwanese Hokkien lyrics. |
| goán |
阮 |
informal |
neutral |
singular |
|
| ka-kī |
家己 |
formal / informal |
neutral |
singular |
|
| ka-kī-lâng |
家己儂 |
informal |
neutral |
plural |
儂 (-lâng) is suffixed for plural. Here, it is not only used in Southeast Asian Hokkien dialects, but also in Chinese Hokkien and Taiwanese Hokkien. (see also list of pluralising suffixes, below) |
| kò-jîn |
個人 |
formal |
neutral |
singular |
|
| lán |
咱 |
formal / informal |
neutral |
plural |
Exclusive |
| lán-lâng |
咱儂 |
informal |
neutral |
plural |
儂 (-lâng) is typically suffixed for plural in Southeast Asian Hokkien dialects. (see also list of pluralising suffixes, below) |
| lâng |
儂 |
informal |
neutral |
singular |
It originally means "person". |
| lín-chó͘-má |
恁祖媽 |
very informal, rude |
females |
singular |
It originally means "your grandmother". |
| lín-pē |
恁父 |
very informal, rude |
males |
singular |
It originally means "your father". |
| ngó͘ |
吾 / 我 |
formal, written |
neutral |
singular |
|
| sió-seng |
小生 |
formal, written |
males |
singular |
|
| – second person – |
| chiok-hā |
足下 |
formal, written |
males |
singular |
|
| koh-hā |
閣下 |
formal, written |
males |
singular |
|
| kun |
君 |
formal, written |
males |
singular |
|
| lí |
汝 |
formal / informal |
neutral |
singular |
|
| lín |
恁 |
formal / informal |
neutral |
plural |
|
| lín-lâng |
恁儂 |
informal |
neutral |
plural |
儂 (-lâng) is typically suffixed for plural in Southeast Asian Hokkien dialects. (see also list of pluralising suffixes, below) |
| – third person – |
| i |
伊 |
formal / informal |
neutral |
singular |
|
| i-lâng |
伊儂 |
informal |
neutral |
plural |
儂 (-lâng) is typically suffixed for plural in Southeast Asian Hokkien dialects. (see also list of pluralising suffixes, below) |
| in |
𪜶 |
formal / informal |
neutral |
plural |
|
| lâng |
儂 |
informal |
neutral |
singular |
It originally means "person". |
Archaic personal pronouns
| Pe̍h-ōe-jī |
Hàn-jī |
Level of speech |
Gender |
Meaning |
Notes |
| chhiap-sin |
妾身 |
formal |
females |
I |
It means "concubine" or "mistress". It is seldom used in modern societies. |
| pē-hā |
陛下 |
formal, written |
neutral, emperors, kings, queens |
You |
|
| tiān-hā |
殿下 |
formal, written |
neutral, princes, princesses |
You |
|
Suffixes
Suffixes are added to pronouns to make them plural.
| Pe̍h-ōe-jī |
Hàn-jī |
Level of speech |
Gender |
Examples |
Notes |
| lâng |
儂 |
informal |
neutral |
- 我儂, góa-lâng (we)
- 家己儂, ka-kī-lâng (we)
- 咱儂, lán-lâng (we)
- 恁儂, lín-lâng (you)
- 伊儂, i-lâng (they)
|
儂 (-lâng) is typically suffixed for plural in Southeast Asian Hokkien dialects,
but some of them like ka-kī-lâng (we) is also used in Chinese and Taiwanese Hokkien. |
Demonstrative and interrogative pronouns
Usually, Hokkien pronouns are prefixed with ch- for thing or things near the speaker, and h- for one or ones distant from the speaker.
| Pe̍h-ōe-jī |
Hàn-jī |
Meaning |
| che |
此 / 即 / 這 |
this thing (near the speaker) |
| he |
彼 / 許 |
that thing (distant from the speaker) |
| tó-chi̍t-ê |
佗一个 |
which thing(s)? |
| chit-ê |
此个 / 即个 / 這个 |
this (near the speaker) |
| chia-ê |
遮个 |
these (near the speaker) |
| hit-ê |
彼个 / 許个 |
that (distant from the speaker) |
| hia-ê |
遐个 |
those (distant from the speaker) |
| chia |
遮 |
here (near the speaker) |
| hia |
遐 |
there (distant from the speaker) |
| tó-ūi |
佗位 |
where |
See also