汝うぬ等ら

also: わいら · なむだち · なむたち

Meanings

archaicderogatory

Archaic derogatory second-person plural pronoun, typically used to address a group with contempt. Usually plural, but occasionally singular.

「汝うぬ等ら、ここに集あつまれ」と古ふるい軍ぐん記きに書かいてある。
"Ye, gather here" is written in an old war chronicle.

pronoun

I; me; we; us

archaic

Only with reading わいら

Archaic first-person pronoun, used only with the reading わいら. Can be singular or plural.

古こ文ぶん書しょに「わいらが参さん上じょう仕つかまつる」とある。
In an old document it says, 'I/we have come.'

Kanji

汝you, thou
等etc., and so forth, class (first)
己self

Related words

お前まえら
Modern casual/rude second-person plural, while 汝等 is archaic and derogatory.
汝なんじ
Archaic second-person singular, often used in literary or religious contexts, while 汝等 is plural.

Written forms

汝等
- うぬら
  Archaic kanji spelling; the reading うぬら is the most common for this form.
- わいら
  Archaic reading わいら, used for the first-person sense.
- なむだち
  Archaic reading なむだち, a variant of なむたち.
- なむたち
  Archaic reading なむたち, used for the second-person plural sense.
己等うぬら
Alternate archaic kanji spelling, also read うぬら.
わいら
なむたち
なむだち

Etymology

The kanji 汝 (you) and 等 (plural suffix) combine to form an archaic second-person plural pronoun. The readings うぬら, なむたち, and なむだち are derived from archaic second-person pronouns with plural suffixes. The reading わいら is an archaic first-person pronoun with the same plural suffix, showing a semantic shift. The exact historical derivation of each reading is uncertain.