How to Say "I" in Cantonese - How To Say Guide

我

ngo⁵

The English phrase I is translated into Cantonese as 我 (ngo⁵).

Meaning: personal pronoun (pron)

Which one should you use?

The term 本人 can also be used to mean I in more formal contexts.

ngo⁵

In very formal or traditional documents, you might see 鄙人（bei2 jan4）, which literally means 'this humble person'. It is a way of saying 'I' while intentionally lowering one's own status to show respect to the reader.
In casual conversation, Cantonese speakers often drop the 我 entirely if the context makes it clear who is speaking. This creates a 'pro-drop' effect where the subject of the sentence is simply invisible.
In some Cantonese-influenced social circles, people might refer to themselves by their name or nickname instead of using 我 to sound more endearing or humble.

我好掛住你。
I miss you very much.
This sentence is useful for expressing how much you miss someone using 我.
Tatoeba #417798 by nickyeow, translation #18053 by CK
我喊咗成晚。
I cried all night long.
This sentence is useful for describing a past action using 我.
Tatoeba #437752 by nickyeow, translation #25510 by CK
我係食齋嘅。
I am a vegetarian.
This sentence is useful for stating a personal habit or identity using 我.
Tatoeba #459923 by nickyeow, translation #367935 by rike
我叫李明。
I am called Li Ming.
我想食炸雞。
I want to eat fried chicken.
我好開心。
I am very happy.
我係學生。
I am a student.
我係香港人。
I am from Hong Kong.
我哋去食飯啦。
Let's go eat.
我哋好開心啊。
We're so happy.
1682 more sentences on Tatoeba

Two friends are chatting about their plans for the afternoon.

俊傑 Chun Kit

你今日做咩呀？
nei5 gam1 jat1 zou6 me1 aa3?
What are you doing today?
雅婷 Nga Ting

我今日想去睇戲。
ngo5 gam1 jat1 soeng2 heoi3 tai2 hei3.
I want to go see a movie today.
俊傑 Chun Kit

好呀，我同你去。
hou2 aa3, ngo5 tung4 nei5 heoi3.
Great, I will go with you.
雅婷 Nga Ting

好呀，我哋一齊去。
hou2 aa3, ngo5 dei6 jat1 cai4 heoi3.
Okay, let's go together.

Sources

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