How to Write 我 (wǒ) — Meaning “I; me”

Imagine a person pointing at themselves with a spear (戈) to say 'me' – the left side looks like a hand holding the spear. You can also think of the seven strokes as the word 'I' written with a sharp weapon to show self-importance.

Start with the left side: write the diagonal stroke from top-left to bottom-right, then the horizontal hook, and finally the slanted line inside. The right side 戈 has a horizontal stroke that crosses through the left part, and the slash (撇) must angle down to the left. A common mistake is making the left side too wide or forgetting the hook on the third stroke.

我 (wǒ) means 'I/me' and has a left side that looks like a hand; 威 (wēi) means 'majestic' and has a woman (女) under a spear, and 戉 (yuè) is an ancient axe. Visually, 我 has a distinct left component with a hook, while 威 includes 女 inside, and 戉 is much simpler with just the spear radical.

我 is used as the first-person pronoun (I, me) in both spoken and written Chinese, e.g., 我爱你 (I love you). Culturally, Chinese speakers often use family or role titles (like 'teacher' or 'mother') instead of 我 in humble contexts, but 我 is perfectly normal in everyday conversation.

Common words containing 我 include: 我们 (wǒ men) — We / Us; 我的 (wǒ de) — My / Mine; 我自己 (wǒ zì jǐ) — Myself.