zaa1咱
Jyutpingzaa1
Yalejā
Definition
I; the first person singular.
colloquialpeople
How it's used
While 咱 is historically used as a first person singular pronoun in some northern dialects, in modern Cantonese it is almost exclusively used as an inclusive we. Using it to mean I is considered highly non-standard and will likely confuse native speakers who associate the character strictly with the collective group including the listener.
Examples
Where are we going to eat today?
Related words
Common mistake
Do not use this to mean I in Cantonese, as it is widely understood as a Mandarin loanword for we. Stick to 我 for the first person singular to avoid sounding unnatural or archaic.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
