我
が～ · ga～ · JLPT N1 · noun
ego
Ancient pictograph of a jagged blade; 我慢 gaman = ego + pride, meaning endurance
The old character shows a serrated halberd, later borrowed to mean 'I' or 'self'. In 我慢 gaman, restraining the ego (ego + pride) becomes patience.
我 — hand 手 (扌) + dagger-axe 戈
Originally a pictograph of a serrated weapon or polearm, used in oracle bone script. It was borrowed phonetically to write the first-person pronoun 'I/me,' and that meaning eventually replaced the original sense of the weapon.
われ · ware · JLPT N1 · noun
maine
我 — hand 手 (扌) + dagger-axe 戈
Originally a pictograph of a serrated weapon or polearm, used in oracle bone script. It was borrowed phonetically to write the first-person pronoun 'I/me,' and that meaning eventually replaced the original sense of the weapon.