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This article contains Hokkien text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Hàn-jī, Pe̍h-ōe-jī and Tâi-lô.
Pronoun
Hàn-jī代名詞
Pe̍h-ōe-jīTāi-bêng-sû
Tâi-lôtāi-bîng-sû
Bbánpìngdâibbíngsú
Hokkien grammar

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 Exclusive
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 Inclusive
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

Categories