Pronouns in Cantonese are less numerous than their Indo-European languages counterparts.
Contents |
| Person | Singular | Plural* | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | Classic | General | Classic | |||||
| First person |
|
|
|
|
||||
| Second person |
|
|
|
|
||||
| Third person |
|
|
|
|
||||
There exist many more pronouns in Classical Chinese and in literary works, including 汝 (jyu) or 爾 (ji) for "you", and 吾 (ng) for "I" (see Chinese honorifics) and However, they are not encountered in colloquial speech.
To indicate possession 嘅 (ge) is appended to the pronoun. In literature or in some daily phrases (especially ones about family or concepts very close to the owner) this is often omitted, e.g. 我老母 (ngo lou mou) or replace possession indicator with classifier, e.g. 我架車 (ngo gaa ce).
For serious use, 令 (ling) to replace 你, as in 令尊 (ling zyun) "Your father" as 你老頭 (nei lou dau). In literary style, 其 (kei) is sometimes used for "his" or "her"; e.g., 其父 (kei fu) means "his father" or "her father".
The singular personal pronouns (for humans) may be made reflexive by appending 自己 (zi gei), "self".
In imperial times, the pronoun for "I" was commonly omitted when speaking politely or to someone with higher social status. "I" was usually replaced with special pronouns to address specific situations. Examples include 寡人 gwaa jan during early Chinese history and 朕 zam after the Qing dynasty when the Emperor is speaking to his subjects. When the subjects speak to the Emperor, they address themselves as 臣 (shen), or "your official". It is extremely impolite and taboo to address the Emperor as "you" or to address oneself as "I".
In modern times, the practice of self-deprecatory terms is still used. In formal letters, the term 貴 (gwai; lit. important) is used for "you" and "your"; e.g., 貴公司 refers to "your company". 本人 (bun jan; lit. this person) is used to refer to oneself.