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Kotomora

我

ego, I, selfish, our, oneself

JLPTN1StatusJōyō · grade 6FrequencyTop 1,000Strokes7

Readings

On'yomi

  • ガ

Kun'yomi

  • われ
  • わ
  • わ.が-
  • わが-

Nanori

  • あ
  • あが
  • か

Meaning

我 centers on the self as a distinct entity: the first-person 'I', the ego, or a sense of self-importance. The meanings 'our' and 'oneself' extend naturally from this self-focused perspective.

Most common words using 我

20 of 133
  • 我がわが

    my; our; one's own

  • 我慢がまん
    N3

    endurance; patience; perseverance; bearing (with something)

  • 我々われわれ
    N3

    we

  • 怪我けが
    N5

    injury; wound

  • 我われ

    I; me

  • 我が家わがや
    N2

    one's house; one's home; one's family

  • 我らわれら

    we; us

  • 自我じが
    N1

    ego

  • 我儘わがまま
    N3

    selfish; egoist

  • 我が身わがみ

    myself; oneself

  • 我が子わがこ

    one's own child; one's own children

  • 我楽多がらくた

    junk; rubbish; trash; garbage; odds and ends

  • 我輩わがはい

    I; me; myself

  • 我武者羅がむしゃら

    reckless; daredevil; frantic; foolhardy

  • 無我夢中むがむちゅう
    N1

    losing oneself (in); being absorbed (in); forgetting oneself

  • 我流がりゅう

    self-taught method; one's own way; one's own style

  • 我が物顔わがものがお

    looking or acting as if one owned the place

  • 無我むが

    selflessness; self-effacement; self-renunciation

  • 我慢強いがまんづよい

    (very) patient; persevering

  • 我家わぎえ

    one's house; one's home; one's family

Explore all words using 我 →

Study

Etymology

我 originally depicted a type of weapon, possibly a saw-toothed blade or a halberd. Over time it was borrowed phonetically to represent the first-person pronoun 'I' or 'self', and its original weapon meaning faded.

Meaning mnemonic

The shape resembles a hand grasping a weapon (戈), suggesting a self-assertive stance: 'I' am the one holding the weapon, emphasizing ego and self.

Reading mnemonic

For ガ, imagine a self-centered person shouting 'GA!' to draw attention to themselves: the sharp 'GA' sound cues ガ while the ego is on full display.