<p>I made a little search in forvo.com, a worldwide database that hosts user-provided audios for words, characters and expressions in every language.</p>
<p>Making a quick search for 我, <a href="http://it.forvo.com/word/%E6%88%91/" rel="noreferrer">the results</a> reveal several entries. The obvious ones Chinese and Japanese and others; among the others we have <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Min_Nan" rel="noreferrer">Min nan</a> (Simpl: 闽南语; Trad: 閩南語; pinyin: Mǐnnán Yǔ), which is a family of Chinese language spoken in: <em>China (PRC and ROC areas), Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, United States (New York City), and other areas of Southern Min and Hoklo settlement.</em><sup>1</sup></p>
<p>If you go to the &quot;results&quot; link, and scroll down until you find &quot;min nan&quot;, you'll see it's pronounced &quot;wah&quot;. It's unambiguous, it's pronounced very open so you can't be mistaken when you find it. I checked the others and no-one else seems to say &quot;wah&quot;.</p>
<hr />
<p><sup>1: definition, chinese version and locations are taken from Wikipedia.</sup></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-21T10:47:08.877Z
2011-12-21T10:47:08.877Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Alenanno
<p>I'm a native speaker. It is "wǒ" in Mandarin. When my parents speak in Taiwanese, it sounds more like "wah".</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-21T19:05:23.540Z
2011-12-21T19:05:23.540Z
Ho-Sheng Hsiao
<p>Don't rely on English phonetics.  Pinyin shouldn't be read as if it were English.  In a sense, especially with regard to vowels, Pinyin is more like Spanish or other Romance languages.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-21T18:52:31.633Z
2011-12-28T06:37:00.580Z
2011-12-28T06:37:00.580Z
Petruza
<p>I think this is the question for me, since I'm from Malaysia :p</p>

<p>So, <strong>"wah"</strong> is not really a 闽南语<br>
but <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokkien" rel="nofollow">Hokkien 福建話</a>, it carry the meaning of <strong>me</strong></p>

<p>In Taiwan 闽南语, <strong>me</strong> = 阮 (pronunce similar to wound, without the <code>d</code>)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-28T12:24:13.643Z
"I" is pronounced as "wah" in Teochew (Chaozhou) dialect
velut luna
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-06-20T14:12:24.533Z
福建话属于闽南语。台语也属于闽南语。
Stumpy Joe Pete
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-06-20T14:32:48.377Z
not really, both languages are very similar
ajreal
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-06-20T16:25:32.297Z
[闽南语](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Min_Chinese) is a language group that _includes_ several distinct dialects (or languages--I'm not qualified to say). Wikipedia lists 泉州话、漳州话、台湾话、潮州话、厦门话. I'm not claiming that both Taiwanese and whatever variety you speak are the same.
Stumpy Joe Pete
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-28T09:40:09.420Z
2011-12-28T09:40:09.420Z
ajreal
<p>The standard pronunciation in Mandarin should be wǒ. "Wah" could be from some dialect in southern China.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-21T04:57:28.070Z
Can you be more specific and provide a source for your claim that 'Wah' comes from a southern dialect. It is important to provide facts.
going
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-21T04:06:53.257Z
2011-12-21T04:06:53.257Z
baoye
<p>I'm corrected to pronounce WAH instead of "wǒ."</p>

<p>Is it the same and I just hear it wrong in my head? Or is there a difference in dialect?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-19T23:31:43.380Z
Who corrects you? Or where do you hear 我 being pronounced as "wah"? Can you add more context and details? Thank you. :)
Alenanno
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-19T23:36:21.163Z
It could potentially be a different dialect - 我 in Taiwanese is pronounced "wah"
pyko
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-20T00:33:30.830Z
@pyko exactly what I was coming here to say.

Although when I first started learning Mandarin, I always heard things differently than how people were saying them - so it could just as easily be that as well.
Ciaocibai
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-21T09:40:33.473Z
By the way, on the same note, I noticed that in an audio file I have 好 (hăo) is pronounced "hău", but I guess it's just a matter of that pronunciation, maybe very exaggerated.
Alenanno
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-23T00:06:18.713Z
When I first started learning, my Taiwan friend would correct my pronunciation, after a while I realised I should ignore him, and follow standard Mandarin.
Matthew Rudy 马泰
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-12-28T11:38:12.697Z
Is the "o" in 我 (wo） and 波 （bo) the same sound?
Village
<pronunciation>
Why do I see 我 for I, but is pronounced WAH
# Why do I see 我 for I, but is pronounced WAH

(Asked by: username_0 on 2011-12-19)

I'm corrected to pronounce WAH instead of "wǒ."

Is it the same and I just hear it wrong in my head? Or is there a difference in dialect?

**Tags:** pronunciation

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Who corrects you? Or where do you hear 我 being pronounced as "wah"? Can you add more context and details? Thank you. :)  
> **username_2**: It could potentially be a different dialect - 我 in Taiwanese is pronounced "wah"  
> **username_3**: @username_2 exactly what I was coming here to say.  Although when I first started learning Mandarin, I always heard things differently than how people were saying them - so it could just as easily be that as well.  
> **username_1**: By the way, on the same note, I noticed that in an audio file I have 好 (hăo) is pronounced "hău", but I guess it's just a matter of that pronunciation, maybe very exaggerated.  
> **username_4**: When I first started learning, my Taiwan friend would correct my pronunciation, after a while I realised I should ignore him, and follow standard Mandarin.  
> **username_5**: Is the "o" in 我 (wo） and 波 （bo) the same sound?  

---

## 5 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2011-12-21. Score: 5

I made a little search in forvo.com, a worldwide database that hosts user-provided audios for words, characters and expressions in every language.

Making a quick search for 我, [the results](http://it.forvo.com/word/%E6%88%91/) reveal several entries. The obvious ones Chinese and Japanese and others; among the others we have [Min nan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Min_Nan) (Simpl: 闽南语; Trad: 閩南語; pinyin: Mǐnnán Yǔ), which is a family of Chinese language spoken in: *China (PRC and ROC areas), Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, United States (New York City), and other areas of Southern Min and Hoklo settlement.*1

If you go to the "results" link, and scroll down until you find "min nan", you'll see it's pronounced "wah". It's unambiguous, it's pronounced very open so you can't be mistaken when you find it. I checked the others and no-one else seems to say "wah".

---

1: definition, chinese version and locations are taken from Wikipedia.


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### Answer by username_6 on 2011-12-21. Score: 3

I'm a native speaker. It is "wǒ" in Mandarin. When my parents speak in Taiwanese, it sounds more like "wah".


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### Answer by username_7 on 2011-12-21. Score: 3

Don't rely on English phonetics. Pinyin shouldn't be read as if it were English. In a sense, especially with regard to vowels, Pinyin is more like Spanish or other Romance languages.


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### Answer by username_8 on 2011-12-28. Score: 3

I think this is the question for me, since I'm from Malaysia :p

So, **"wah"** is not really a 闽南语  
but [Hokkien 福建話](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokkien), it carry the meaning of **me**

In Taiwan 闽南语, **me** = 阮 (pronunce similar to wound, without the `d`)

> **Comments:**
> **username_10**: 福建话属于闽南语。台语也属于闽南语。  
> **username_8**: not really, both languages are very similar  
> **username_10**: [闽南语](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Min_Chinese) is a language group that _includes_ several distinct dialects (or languages--I'm not qualified to say). Wikipedia lists 泉州话、漳州话、台湾话、潮州话、厦门话. I'm not claiming that both Taiwanese and whatever variety you speak are the same.  
> **username_9**: "I" is pronounced as "wah" in Teochew (Chaozhou) dialect  

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### Answer by username_11 on 2011-12-21. Score: 1

The standard pronunciation in Mandarin should be wǒ. "Wah" could be from some dialect in southern China.

> **Comments:**
> **username_12**: Can you be more specific and provide a source for your claim that 'Wah' comes from a southern dialect. It is important to provide facts.  

---

