吾輩

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See also: 吾辈

Chinese

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I; my contemporaries; generation; lifetime
trad. (吾輩)
simp. (吾辈)

Pronunciation

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Rime
Character
Reading # 1/2 1/1
Initial () (31) (1)
Final () (23) (42)
Tone (調) Level (Ø) Departing (H)
Openness (開合) Open Closed
Division () I I
Fanqie
Baxter ngu pwojH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/ŋuo/ /puʌiH/
Pan
Wuyun
/ŋuo/ /puoiH/
Shao
Rongfen
/ŋo/ /puɒiH/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/ŋɔ/ /pwəjH/
Li
Rong
/ŋo/ /puᴀiH/
Wang
Li
/ŋu/ /puɒiH/
Bernhard
Karlgren
/ŋuo/ /puɑ̆iH/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
bèi
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
ng4 bui3

Pronoun

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吾輩

  1. (literary) we; us

Synonyms

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Japanese

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Kanji in this term
わが
Jinmeiyō
はい
Grade: S
yutōyomi
Alternative spellings
我輩
我が輩
吾が輩

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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(わが)(はい) (wagahai

  1. (dated) I, me; we, us
    • 190506, Natsume Sōseki, I Am a Cat (text here)
      (わが)(はい)(ねこ)である。()(まえ)はまだ()い。
      Wagahai wa neko de aru. Namae wa mada nai.
      I am a cat. As yet, I have no name.

Usage notes

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  • This is uncommon and old-fashioned and conveys a nuance of self-importance and arrogance. When used today it's often a pun on the title of Natsume Sōseki's novel, and the usage follows the form 吾輩は……である. The closest pronoun widely used today is (おれ) (ore).

Synonyms

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References

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  1. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN