儂

See also: 侬

儂 U+5102, 儂 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5102 ← 儁 [U+5101] CJK Unified Ideographs 儃 → [U+5103]

Contents

Translingual

Han character

儂 (radical 9, 人+13, 15 strokes, cangjie input 人廿田女 (OTWV), four-corner 2523₂, composition ⿰亻農)

References

• KangXi: page 118, character 25
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1176
• Dae Jaweon: page 251, character 9
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 1, page 225, character 4
• Unihan data for U+5102

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Chinese

trad.		儂
simp.		侬

Glyph origin

Characters in the same phonetic series (農) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
	Old Chinese
嶩	*nuː
噥	*rnuːŋ, *nuːŋ
鬞	*rnuːŋ, *noŋ
擃	*rnuːŋʔ
齈	*noːŋs
癑	*noːŋs
農	*nuːŋ
辳	*nuːŋ
憹	*nuːŋ
膿	*nuːŋ
儂	*nuːŋ
濃	*noŋ
醲	*noŋ
襛	*noŋ, *njoŋ
穠	*noŋ, *njoŋ
檂	*noŋ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *nuːŋ): semantic 亻 + phonetic 農 (OC *nuːŋ).

Etymology

“Person; I; me > suffix for pronouns” in southeastern dialects.

Its senses of “person; human being” and “pronoun suffix” are well-attested in the classical literature, dating back to the Six Dynasties. At the present time, traces of this word are found in regions of Jiangsu (Northern Wu), Anhui (Hui), Shanghai (Northern Wu), Zhejiang (Southern Wu), Jiangxi (Gan), Fujian (Min), Guangdong (Southern Min, Cantonese), Guangxi (Cantonese) and Hainan (Min).

“Person; human”

In coastal Min (Min Dong, Min Nan and Puxian Min), it serves as the vernacular reading of 人 (OC *njin, “person”), by itself or in compounds. It is also used in Jinqu Wu dialects (formerly classified as Wuzhou Wu and Chuqu Wu), usually written as 農.

“I”

儂 was used to mean “I” in medieval poetry from the Wu region, before it was displaced by the common Chinese 我 (MC ŋɑ^X, “I”). Also attested was ancient Wu 阿儂 (MC ʔɑ nuoŋ, “I”), which was abbreviated to 阿 (“I”) in certain dialects, such as Jinhua.

“Infant”

儂 (nɔŋ²¹) (in the dark departing tone) in Leizhou Min refers to "infant". It may be related to Zhuang nongx (“younger brother”) and Southern Kam nongx (“younger brother and sister”).

“Pronoun suffix”

This is widely found in Wu and Min dialects. The structure ‹ singular pronoun (“I, you, he/she/it”) + 儂 › is common, with 儂 functioning either as a meaningless particle or a pluraliser. The resulting forms were thus used to mean singular or plural pronouns, and were rather prone to elision to become a single syllable. Compare the following plural pronouns in Min:

Original word	Meaning	Fuding (Eastern Min)	Longyan (Southern Min)	Xiamen (Southern Min)	Xianyou (Puxian Min)
我儂	we	ua neiŋ	gua laŋ	gun (阮)	kuoŋ ~ kŋ (滾)
儂儂	we (inclusive)	-	laŋ laŋ	lan (咱)	-
汝儂	you (plural)	ni neiŋ	li laŋ	lin (恁)	tyøŋ (長)
伊儂	they	i neiŋ	i laŋ	in (𪜶)	yøŋ (𪜶)

A similar chain of changes happened in the Wu dialects to arrive at the modern divergent dialectal forms for “you (singular)”. In Shanghai and some other Wu dialects, the first syllable had become elided, leaving 儂 to mean “you (singular)”.

爾儂 (MC ȵiᴇX nuoŋ)
Fenghua (Zhejiang)	/n̩˧˨˦.noŋˑ/
Yuyao (Zhejiang)	/noŋ˩˩˧/
Shanghai (Shanghai)	/nʊŋ˨˧/ (儂)
Ningbo (Zhejiang)	/nəu˨˩˧/
Changshu (Jiangsu)	/nɛ̃˧˩/
Suzhou (Jiangsu)	/ne̞˧˩/
Shengze (Jiangsu)	/nə˧˩/

With regard to the etymology of this word, Huang (1980), Norman (1983) and Zhou (1986) hypothesised that this is the same as 農 (OC *nuːŋ, “farmer; peasant”). The use of this word as a pronoun may have originated as a form of personal deprecation and then come to be used as a full-fledged pronoun. Pan and Chen (1995) considered this theory implausible, and proposed that this was originally a Baiyue substrate word, possibly of Tai-Kadai origin. The initial meaning of nong was possibly a clan name, later developing to mean “person; I”. Compare Zhuang Nungz (“a surname”) and name of the 11^th century Zhuang leader Nong Zhigao, as well as the name of the Nùng people in Vietnam.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): nóng (nong²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄋㄨㄥˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): nung⁴
• Min Dong (BUC): nè̤ng
• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): lâng / lông

  (Teochew, Peng'im): nang⁵

• Wu (Wiktionary): non (T3)

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: nóng
    • Zhuyin: ㄋㄨㄥˊ
    • Wade–Giles: nung²
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: nong
    • IPA ^(key): /nʊŋ³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: nung⁴
    • Yale: nùhng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: nung⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: nung⁴
    • IPA ^(key): /nʊŋ²¹/
• Min Dong
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: nè̤ng
    • IPA ^(key): /nˡøyŋ⁵³/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lâng / lông
    • Tâi-lô: lâng / lông
    • Phofsit Daibuun: laang, loong
    • IPA (Xiamen): /laŋ²⁴/, /lɔŋ²⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /laŋ²⁴/, /lɔŋ²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /laŋ¹³/, /lɔŋ¹³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /laŋ²⁴/, /lɔŋ²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /laŋ²³/, /lɔŋ²³/

Note:

• lâng - vernacular;
• lông - literary.

• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: nang⁵
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: nâng
  • IPA ^(key): /naŋ⁵⁵/

Wu

• (Shanghainese)
  • Wiktionary: non (T3)
  • IPA ^(key): /nʊŋ²³/

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• Middle Chinese: /nuoŋ/▼

Rime
Character	儂
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	泥 (8)
Final (韻)	冬 (5)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	奴冬切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/nuoŋ/
Pan Wuyun	/nuoŋ/
Shao Rongfen	/noŋ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/nawŋ/
Li Rong	/noŋ/
Wang Li	/nuoŋ/
Bernard Karlgren	/nuoŋ/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	nóng

• Old Chinese▼

  (Zhengzhang): /*nuːŋ/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	儂
Reading #	1/1
No.	9576
Phonetic component	農
Rime group	終
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	農
Old Chinese	/*nuːŋ/

Definitions

儂

1. (coastal Min, dialectal Wu) person; human being (Classifier: 隻／只 md; 個／个 mn)
2. (coastal Min) a person associated with a particular identity or trait; -er
3. (coastal Min) physical, psychological or moral quality or condition
4. (coastal Min) other people
5. (Wu, coastal Min) I; me

   • 儂是海南阿哥　老厝置瓊海丹嶺村 [Hainanese, trad.]
     侬是海南阿哥　老厝置琼海丹岭村 [Hainanese, simp.]

     From: 2019, 黃明志 (Namewee) ft. 林俊逸 (Sean Lin), 不到海南島 (Lovely Hainan Island)

     nong³ di⁵ hhai³ nam² a¹ go¹, lao⁵ su⁴ ddu⁵ heng² hhai³ ddan¹ lia³ sui¹ [Guangdong Romanization]

     I am Mr. Hainan, who came from Danling village in Qionghai country^{[sic, meaning county]}

6. (archaic or Wu) you (singular)

   哪能儂現在上海閒話講了介好？ [Shanghainese, trad.]
   哪能侬现在上海闲话讲了介好？ [Shanghainese, simp.]

   [na̱²² nəɲ³³  nʊŋ³³  ɦi²² z̻e̞³³  z̻ɑ̃²² he̞³³  ɦe̞²² ɦo³³  kɑ̃⁴⁴  ləʔ²²  t͡ɕia̱⁴⁴  hɔ³⁴] [IPA]

   How come you speak Shanghainese so well?

7. (dialectal Wu) he, him; she, her; it
8. (Hainanese, affectionate) A pronoun used by someone in the older generation to refer to someone in the younger generation.
9. (Leizhou Min) infant
10. (dialectal Cantonese) child
11. (Min, Wu) Suffix for pronouns, functioning as a meaningless particle or a pluralising particle.
12. A surname​. Nong

Usage notes

• (I):
  • Archaic in Wu.
  • In coastal Min (Min Dong nè̤ng; Hokkien lāng, lǎng, lâng; Hainanese nang²), it is often used affectionately like Mandarin 人家 (rénjia).
  • In Hainanese, nong³ used as a humble way for someone in the younger generation to refer to oneself.

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 我 (“I”) [map]
Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		吾, 我, 私, 余, 予, 台, 朕
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		我
Mandarin	Beijing	我
	Taiwan	我
	Jinan	我, 俺
	Xi'an	我
	Wuhan	我
	Chengdu	我
	Yangzhou	我
	Hefei	我
Cantonese	Guangzhou	我
	Hong Kong	我
	Taishan	我
	Yangjiang	我
Gan	Nanchang	我
Hakka	Meixian	𠊎
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	𠊎
	Liudui (S. Sixian)	𠊎
	Hsinchu (Hailu)	𠊎
	Dongshi (Dabu)	𠊎
	Hsinchu (Raoping)	𠊎
	Yunlin (Zhao'an)	𠊎
Jin	Taiyuan	我
Min Bei	Jian'ou	我
Min Dong	Fuzhou	我, 奴
Min Nan	Xiamen	我, 阮
	Quanzhou	我, 阮
	Zhangzhou	我, 阮
	Taipei	我, 阮
	Kaohsiung	我, 阮
	Penang	我
	Philippines (Manila)	我
	Chaozhou	我
	Wenchang	我, 儂 humble, used by someone in the younger generation
Wu	Shanghai	我, 吾, 阿拉
	Suzhou	我, 奴
	Wenzhou	我
	Ningbo	我, 我儂, 像我
Xiang	Changsha	我
	Shuangfeng	我, 卬

Compounds

• 伊儂／伊侬
• 你儂／你侬 (nǐnóng)
• 你儂我儂／你侬我侬 (nǐnóngwǒnóng)
• 偎儂／偎侬

• 儂人／侬人
• 儂家／侬家
• 吳儂／吴侬
• 咱儂／咱侬

• 我儂／我侬 (wǒnóng)
• 曼儂／曼侬
• 汝儂／汝侬
• 渠儂／渠侬 (qúnóng)

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Japanese

Kanji in this term
儂
わし Hyōgaiji
kun’yomi

Kanji

儂

(uncommon “Hyōgai” kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: の (no); のう (nō)
• Kan-on: どう (dō)
• Kan’yō-on: のん (non)
• Kun: わし (washi, 儂); かれ (kare, 儂)

Usage notes

This character is seldom used in modern Japanese.

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
儂
わし Hyōgaiji
kun’yomi

Contraction of 私 (watashi, “I, me”).

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) わし [wàshí] (Heiban – [0])
  • IPA^(key): [ɰᵝa̠ɕi]

Alternative forms

• 私 (more common)

Pronoun

儂 (hiragana わし, rōmaji washi)

1. (mainly Western Japan) I, me

Usage notes

The term is a regular pronoun in Western Japan, used primarily by men in most regions. Depending on the region, it may be used mainly by the elderly, which is especially true for women using it, and becoming more true as usage of local variants declines in younger generations. Its use is often considered stereotypical of old people in Japanese media and is frequently used in TV shows and comics to emphasize the age of characters. However, it may also simply be used to emphasize the character as hailing from Kansai.

More commonly spelled 私, or in kana to make the reading explicit.

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
儂
かれ Hyōgaiji
kun’yomi

From Old Japanese. Compound of 彼 (ka, “that, yon”) +‎ れ (-re, nominalizing suffix for demonstratives). Found in the Man'yōshū compiled around 759.

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) か​れ [káꜜrè] (Atamadaka – [1])
  • IPA^(key): [ka̠ɾe̞]

Alternative forms

• 彼 (more common)

Pronoun

儂 (hiragana かれ, rōmaji kare)

1. (rare) third person pronoun: he, she
   1. particularly, male personal third person pronoun: he
   2. by extension from he: boyfriend

Usage notes

Very rare spelling. See the more common spelling 彼 for more details about the term.

References

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Korean

Hanja

儂 • (nong) (hangeul 농, revised nong, McCune–Reischauer nong)

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

儂 (nông, nùng, noọng)

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