佢

Translingual

Han character

佢 (Kangxi radical 9, 人+5, 7 strokes, cangjie input 人尸尸 (OSS), four-corner 2121₇, composition ⿰亻巨)

Derived characters

• 𠳔

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: not present, would follow page 100, character 2
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 538
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 120, character 5
• Unihan data for U+4F62

Chinese

Glyph origin

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声) : semantic 亻 + phonetic 巨 (OC *ɡaʔ).

Etymology

From the initial *k-series of Old Chinese third-person pronouns, cognate with 其 (OC *ɡɯ). Also compare Proto-Mon-Khmer *ge(e)ʔ, whence Khmer គេ (kei, “they; he; she”) (Schuessler, 2007).

In standard Cantonese, the tone has assimilated with the other personal pronouns: 我 (ngo⁵), 你 (nei⁵) (Chan, 1998).

Before the use of 佢, 渠 was also used in some novels and newspapers, such as 老婆奴續編／老婆奴续编 (1926). The character 渠 is still preferred in lects such as Wu and sometimes Gan.

Pronunciation

Definitions

佢

1. (Cantonese, Hakka, Gan, Northern Min, Central Min, vernacular) he; she; they; it (third person singular pronoun)

   佢有三個大佬。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   佢有三个大佬。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   keoi⁵ jau⁵ saam¹ go³ daai⁶ lou².

   She has three elder brothers.

   唔好搞佢啦。 [Cantonese, trad. and simp.]

   m⁴ hou² gaau² keoi⁵ laa¹.

   Don't bother him.

   佢個鼻好大。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   佢个鼻好大。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   keoi⁵ go³ bei⁶ hou² daai⁶.

   Its nose is very big.

2. (Cantonese) Used after a verb phrase representing a telic event in irrealis contexts.

   同我食埋碟餸佢。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   同我食埋碟𩠌佢。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   tung⁴ ngo⁵ sik⁶ maai⁴ dip⁶ sung³ keoi⁵.

   Eat up the rest of the dish.

   我想抹乾淨張檯佢。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   我想抹干净张台佢。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   ngo⁵ soeng² maat³ gon¹ zeng⁶ zoeng¹ toi^4-2 keoi⁵.

   I want to wipe the table clean.

   你可唔可以掉嗮啲垃圾佢啊？ [Cantonese, trad. and simp.]

   nei⁵ ho² m⁴ ho² ji⁵ deu⁶ saai³ di¹ laap⁶ saap³ keoi⁵ aa³?

   Can you throw out all the garbage?

   • 1954, 朱頂鶴, 陳雲, directed by 譚伯葉, 鄧轟, and 陳中堅, 好女十八嫁 [Eighteen Marriages of a Smart Girl], spoken by 阮素貞 (羅細鉗):

     噉後來咪搞到我不如索性死咗佢啦。 [Cantonese, trad.]
     噉后来咪搞到我不如索性死咗佢啦。 [Cantonese, simp.]

     gam² hau⁶ loi⁴ mai⁶ gaau² dou³ ngo⁵ bat¹ jyu⁴ sok³ sing³ sei² zo² keoi⁵ laa¹.

     So then, afterwards, it made me might as well go die.

Synonyms

Compounds

References

• “佢”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• 清末民初的粵語書寫（修訂版）, p336-337

Japanese

Kanji

(uncommon “Hyōgai” kanji)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Readings

• On (unclassified): きょ (kyo)
• Kun: かれ (kare)

Korean

Hanja

佢 (eumhun 그 거 (geu geo))

1. Hanja form^? of 거 (“he, him”).

References

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典.

Vietnamese

Han character

佢: Hán Nôm readings: cừ

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

References

• Nom Foundation