The Mandarin 者 (zhě) Suffix: 作者, 读者, 前者, and Naming the One Who Does It

What 者 (zhě) does

者 (zhě) attaches to the end of a verb and turns it into the one who performs it. Like 所 (suǒ), it is a classical leftover that survives in modern Chinese; unlike 所 (suǒ), it is baked into hundreds of ordinary nouns, so you have been using it since your first hundred words without seeing the machinery.

Look at four words you already know:

• 作 (zuò) write, compose + 者 (zhě) = 作者 (zuò zhě) - author.
• 读 (dú) read + 者 (zhě) = 读者 (dú zhě) - reader.
• 记 (jì) record + 者 (zhě) = 记者 (jì zhě) - journalist, reporter.
• 学 (xué) study + 者 (zhě) = 学者 (xué zhě) - scholar.

Once the pattern is visible, a whole shelf of formal vocabulary decodes on sight:

• 使用者 (shǐ yòng zhě) - user. (使用 (shǐ yòng) = use.)
• 参加者 (cān jiā zhě) - participant, the one taking part.
• 学习者 (xué xí zhě) - learner.
• 工作者 (gōng zuò zhě) - worker, in the formal sense of 'a person in this line of work'.
• 消费者 (xiāo fèi zhě) - consumer. (消费 (xiāo fèi) = spend, consume.)

The compare-and-contrast with 所 (suǒ) is worth holding onto, because the two are a matched pair: 所 (suǒ) names what is done, 者 (zhě) names who does it. 他所说的 (tā suǒ shuō de) is what he said; 说话者 (shuō huà zhě) is the person speaking. Object versus subject, and both formal.

The spoken twin: 的人 (de rén)

Every 者 (zhě) word has a plain-Chinese equivalent built with a relative clause plus 人 (rén). They mean the same thing. They are not interchangeable in use.

• 使用者 (shǐ yòng zhě) / 使用的人 (shǐ yòng de rén) - the user.
• 说话者 (shuō huà zhě) / 说话的人 (shuō huà de rén) - the speaker.
• 参加者 (cān jiā zhě) / 参加的人 (cān jiā de rén) - the participant.

The 者 (zhě) version goes in a notice, a headline, a contract, a report, an academic article. The 的人 (de rén) version goes in your mouth. If you are talking to a friend about who was waiting outside, 外面等的人 (wài miàn děng de rén) is the only natural choice, and 外面等者 (wài miàn děng zhě) would be strange enough to stop the conversation.

The quick test: could this sentence be printed on a sign? Then 者 (zhě). Are you saying it to somebody's face? Then 的人 (de rén).

者 (zhě) is only half-productive

This is the rule that keeps learners out of trouble. English lets you bolt -er onto almost any verb and still be understood: coin 'a queuer' or 'a waiter-abouter' and an English speaker reads it as a joke rather than an error. Mandarin does not extend the same courtesy.

者 (zhě) attaches comfortably to two-syllable formal verbs: 使用者 (shǐ yòng zhě), 参加者 (cān jiā zhě), 消费者 (xiāo fèi zhě), 管理者 (guǎn lǐ zhě) (manager, 管理 (guǎn lǐ) = manage), 领导者 (lǐng dǎo zhě) (leader). Those are productive, and a newly-coined one will be understood.

It does NOT attach to everyday one-syllable verbs. There is no 吃者 (chī zhě) for 'eater', no 走者 (zǒu zhě) for 'walker', no 买者 (mǎi zhě) for 'buyer'. Those go through 的人 (de rén) instead: 吃饭的人 (chī fàn de rén), 买东西的人 (mǎi dōng xi de rén). The single-syllable 者 (zhě) words that do exist (作者 (zuò zhě), 读者 (dú zhě), 记者 (jì zhě), 学者 (xué zhě), 死者 (sǐ zhě)) are lexicalised: they are dictionary words you learn one by one, not a pattern you extend.

Safe policy: use the 者 (zhě) words you have met, build new ones only from two-syllable formal verbs, and reach for 的人 (de rén) for everything else.

前者 (qián zhě) and 后者 (hòu zhě): the former and the latter

Here 者 (zhě) stops naming a person and names an item in a list. This pair is the single most useful thing on this page for writing:

• 前者 (qián zhě) - the former, the first-mentioned.
• 后者 (hòu zhě) - the latter, the second-mentioned.
• 两者 (liǎng zhě) / 二者 (èr zhě) - the two of them, both.

Used exactly as in English, to avoid repeating two long names:

• 我喜欢茶和咖啡，但前qián者zhě更便宜。 (wǒ xǐ huan chá hé kā fēi, dàn qián zhě gèng pián yi.) - I like tea and coffee, but the former is cheaper.
• 这两个办法都行，我选后hòu者zhě。 (zhè liǎng ge bàn fǎ dōu xíng, wǒ xuǎn hòu zhě.) - Both methods work; I choose the latter.
• 两liǎng者zhě都很重要。 (liǎng zhě dōu hěn zhòng yào.) - Both are important.

They refer back to items in the same sentence or the one just before, and they refer to things rather than people. For two people you have just named, repeat the names.

Note that 前者 (qián zhě) and 后者 (hòu zhě) have nothing to do with 以前 (yǐ qián) and 以后 (yǐ hòu). The 前 (qián) and 后 (hòu) here are positions in a list, not points in time.

或者 (huò zhě) and 再者 (zài zhě): 者 as a fossil

Two more words carry 者 (zhě) with no trace of its meaning left.

或huò者zhě (huò zhě) - or. Fully everyday, fully spoken, and the one 者 (zhě) word you already use without thinking:

• 你要茶或huò者zhě咖啡？ (nǐ yào chá huò zhě kā fēi?) - Do you want tea or coffee?
• 明天或huò者zhě后天都可以。 (míng tiān huò zhě hòu tiān dōu kě yǐ.) - Tomorrow or the day after is fine.

Keep 或者 (huò zhě) for statements and 还是 (hái shi) for genuine either-or questions where you expect the listener to pick one.

再zài者zhě (zài zhě) - furthermore, what is more. Firmly written register, a connector for stacking arguments:

• 再zài者zhě，这个办法太贵了。 (zài zhě, zhè ge bàn fǎ tài guì le.) - Furthermore, this method is too expensive.

It belongs in an essay next to 而且 (ér qiě) and 另外 (lìng wài), and sounds pompous in conversation.

Worked examples

1. 这本书的作zuò者zhě是一位年轻学xué者zhě。 (zhè běn shū de zuò zhě shì yī wèi nián qīng xué zhě.) - The author of this book is a young scholar. Two lexicalised 者 nouns in one sentence.
2. 使shǐ用yòng者zhě请先看说明。 (shǐ yòng zhě qǐng xiān kàn shuō míng.) - Users, please read the instructions first. A notice, so 者 rather than 的人.
3. 外面等的de人rén很多。 (wài miàn děng de rén hěn duō.) - There are a lot of people waiting outside. Spoken, so 的人; 等者 would be wrong.
4. 前qián者zhě比后hòu者zhě容易。 (qián zhě bǐ hòu zhě róng yì.) - The former is easier than the latter. Comparing two items already named.
5. 你可以坐车或huò者zhě走路。 (nǐ kě yǐ zuò chē huò zhě zǒu lù.) - You can take the bus or walk. Fossilised 者, everyday register.
6. 他所写的de书很多，读dú者zhě也很多。 (tā suǒ xiě de shū hěn duō, dú zhě yě hěn duō.) - He has written a lot of books, and has a lot of readers too. 所 names what is written; 者 names who reads.

Common mistakes

1. Inventing 者zhě (zhě) words from one-syllable verbs. 吃者 (chī zhě), 买者 (mǎi zhě) and 看者 (kàn zhě) are not words. Use 的人 (de rén): 吃饭的人 (chī fàn de rén), 买东西的人 (mǎi dōng xi de rén).
2. Doubling up. 使用者的人 (shǐ yòng zhě de rén) says 'user person'. Pick one: 使用者 (shǐ yòng zhě) or 使用的人 (shǐ yòng de rén).
3. 者zhě (zhě) in conversation. It is a written marker. Saying 说话者 (shuō huà zhě) to a friend lands like saying 'the aforementioned speaker' in a pub.
4. Confusing 后hòu者zhě (hòu zhě) with 以yǐ后hòu (yǐ hòu). 后者 (hòu zhě) is 'the latter of two things'; 以后 (yǐ hòu) is 'afterwards'. Same character, unrelated jobs.
5. Using 前qián者zhě (qián zhě) / 后hòu者zhě (hòu zhě) for people. They point at things and options. For two people you have just introduced, use their names or 他 (tā) and 那个人 (nà ge rén).
6. Reaching for 或huò者zhě (huò zhě) in a question. 你要茶或者咖啡 (nǐ yào chá huò zhě kā fēi) is understandable but weak; a real choice question wants 还是 (hái shi): 你要茶还是咖啡？ (nǐ yào chá hái shi kā fēi?)
7. Treating 者zhě (zhě) as plural or singular. It is neither. 读者 (dú zhě) is 'reader' or 'readers' depending on context, exactly like every other Chinese noun.

See also

• The 所 (suǒ) family - the other half of the formal nominalisation pair: 所 (suǒ) names what is done, 者 (zhě) names who does it.
• Relative clauses with 的 - how the spoken twin 的人 (de rén) is built, and why it can carry a whole clause where 者 (zhě) cannot.
• Conjunctions - where 或者 (huò zhě), 还是 (hái shi) and 再者 (zài zhě) sit among the linking words.
• Word order - the modifier-before-head rule that puts 前 (qián) and 后 (hòu) in front of 者 (zhě) in the first place.