佢
Character Story & Explanation
佢 is widely used in spoken and written Cantonese across Hong Kong, Macau, and Guangdong province. It appears in local newspapers (e.g., Apple Daily archives), film subtitles, WhatsApp chats, and government multilingual signage (e.g., HK Transport Department posters using 佢 alongside English). It is never used in formal Mandarin contexts — no PRC state media, Xinhua News, or HSK exams include it.
The character 佢 is a phonetic-loan character (jiǎjièzì): it repurposes the existing character 俱 (jù, 'all, together') — which shares the same initial consonant and approximate vowel in Cantonese — to represent the pronoun sound /kɵy̯/ (Yale: keoi5). It has no pictographic origin; its form is purely orthographic adaptation, documented since at least the early 20th century in Cantonese vernacular literature.
As your Chinese teacher, I want to clarify something important: the character 佢 (qú) is not part of standard Mandarin Chinese. It does not appear in the official GB2312, Unicode CJK Unified Ideographs core set for Mandarin, nor in any HSK vocabulary list. You won’t find it in textbooks, exams, or formal writing used across mainland China, Taiwan, or Singapore.
This character is a Cantonese-specific pronoun — used orally and in informal written Cantonese (e.g., social media, subtitles, local signage in Hong Kong and Guangdong). Its pronunciation qú reflects the Cantonese Yale romanization (‘keoi5’), not Mandarin pinyin. Mandarin uses 他 (tā) for ‘he’, 她 (tā) for ‘she’, and 它 (tā) for ‘it’ — all homophones but distinct characters.
Learning 佢 is valuable only if you’re studying Cantonese — not Mandarin. Confusing it with standard Mandarin characters can lead to misunderstandings. Always check your learning goals: for HSK, job interviews in Beijing, or academic study? Skip 佢. For chatting with friends in Kowloon or watching Cantopop lyrics? Then yes — it’s essential in that context.
Example Sentences
Common Compounds
Similar Characters — Don't Mix These Up
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