Pronouns in Cantonese are less numerous than their Indo-European languages counterparts. Cantonese uses pronouns that apply the same meaning to function as both subjective (English: I, he, we) and objective (me, him, us) just like many other Sinitic languages.[1]
| Person | Singular | Plural* | |||||
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| General | Classic | Meaning | General | Classic | Meaning | ||
| First person |
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| 'I/me' |
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| 'we/us' | |
| Second person |
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| 'you' |
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| 'you (all)' | |
| Third person |
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| 'he/she/it' |
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| 'they/them' | |
* Personal pronouns are the only items in Cantonese with distinct plural forms. The character to indicate plurality is formed by adding the suffix 哋 (dei6), and classic 等 (dang2).
There exist many more pronouns in Classical Chinese and in literary works, including 汝 (jyu5) or 爾 (ji5) for "you", and 吾 (ng4) for "I" (see Chinese honorifics). However, they are not used in colloquial speech.
Third person singular (keoi5) [4] Although (keoi5) is primarily used to refer to animate nouns (people or animals)in higher registers, it can also refer to inanimate objects and abstract entities in some restricted contexts. When (keoi5) is being referred to an inanimate item it is primarily found in the object position, rather than the subject position. In colloquial speech, its use is frequently extended to refer to nothing at all.[5]
[6] Plural suffix (-dei6) One of the few grammatical suffixes in the language, the suffix (-dei6) cannot be used to form plural forms of nouns.
Example: (sin1saang1-dei6) can't be used to mean teachers
Other than the personal pronouns as shown above, its two other uses are:
1. In the form (jan4-dei6) which is used for indefinite pronouns (people, one, etc.)
In this usage, the word (jan4) 'person' can also take (dei6) to mean 'people'. Despite the suffix (-dei6), (jan4-dei6) may have a singular or plural reference depending on the content.
This form can also be used to refer indirectly to oneself:
Example: A: Nei5 dim2 gaai2 m4 ceot1 seng1 gaa3? Why don't you say anything? B: Jan4 dei6 m4 hou2 ji3 si1 aa1 maa3 It's because I'm embarrassed.
2. In contracted forms with names Example: Paul keoi5 dei6 → Paul-dei6 Paul and his family/friends A-Chan keoi5 dei6→ A-Chan-dei6 Chan and his family/company, etc.
To indicate possession 嘅 (ge3) is appended to the pronoun.
For serious use, 令 (ling6) to replace 你, as in Chinese: 令尊 (ling6 zyun1) "Your father" as 你老竇 (nei5 lou5 dau4). In literary style, 其 (kei4) is sometimes used for "his" or "her"; e.g., 其父 (kei4 fu6) means "his father" or "her father".
In literature, daily phrases (especially ones about family or concepts very close to the owner, or when the subject or object of the sentence is already known, then it may be omitted, e.g. 我老母 (ngo5 lou5 mou5) or replace possession indicator with classifier, e.g. 我架車 (ngo5 gaa3 ce1).
Subject and object pronouns may be omitted in Cantonese under either of these two conditions:
The singular personal pronouns (for humans) may be made reflexive by appending 自己 (zi6 gei2), "self". The reflexive form (zi6 gei2) is used for all persons: myself, yourself, herself, ourselves, etc.[8] It may be distinguished into two different functions:
[10] As a reflexive, (zi gei) is subject-oriented. Another common function is to indicate 'by oneself' or 'alone'.
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 Qin 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.
| Singular | Plural | ||||||||
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| General | Classic | General | Classic | ||||||
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| Distal |
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呢 (ni1) and 嗰 (go3*2) indicates if the demonstratives are proximal or distal, respectively; whereas 個 (go3) and 啲 (di1) indicates if the demonstratives are single or plural, respectively.
爾 (ji5) and 箇 (go3) are the classical forms of 呢 and 嗰, respectively. 之 (zi) is the classical forms of 啲.
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