(rén) - person, people in Mandarin
rénTraditional: 人
Translation
person, people
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Word origin
人 (rén) is a pictograph of a standing human figure seen in profile, with the two strokes representing the legs. It means 'person' or 'people' and appears as a radical, often written 亻, in many characters concerning human beings.
- Origin
- pictograph
- Root
- 人 (rén), pictograph of a standing person
Stroke order
人
Examples
。
There are a lot of people here.
。
He is a good person.
。
China has 1.4 billion people.
。
This person is very friendly.
。
He is not a bad person.
人 (rén) is one of the most iconic Chinese characters - a simple two-stroke pictograph of a person in profile with legs striding forward. It appears as a radical in hundreds of characters related to people and human activities, including 他 (tā, he), 你 (nǐ, you), and 们 (men, plural suffix).
Beyond its literal meaning of "person" or "people," 人 features in countless compound words and expressions: 中国人 (Chinese person), 工人 (worker), 大人 (adult), 人民 (the people). Its radical form appears on the left side of many characters as 亻 (the "standing person" radical), demonstrating how foundational this concept is to the writing system.
Where this fits
Appears in 30 words
Multi-character compounds in the corpus that contain 人.
Used in
Stories
(38)一人120
1 min read · Core 1000
谁的椅子？
1 min read · Core 1000
在吗？
2 min read · Core 1000
发错了
2 min read · Core 1000
两碗米饭
2 min read · Core 1000
我只想买花
2 min read · Core 1000
天安门在哪儿？
2 min read · Core 5000
在浩轩的家
2 min read · Core 5000
错过公交车
3 min read · Core 1000
电影还是公园
3 min read · Core 5000
小公园里的音乐
3 min read · Core 1000
看医生
3 min read · Core 1000
梓涵的家
3 min read · Core 5000
上班第一天
3 min read · Core 1000
手机在哪儿
3 min read · Core 5000
今年回谁家？
3 min read · Core 1000
新工作的第一天
3 min read · Core 1000
一起做饭
3 min read · Core 1000
早上的市场
3 min read · Core 1000
端午节在新加坡
4 min read · Core 5000
错过的火车
5 min read · Core 5000
火车晚了两个小时
5 min read · Core 5000
等了三年
5 min read · Core 5000
后面的字
5 min read · Core 5000
今天不开门
5 min read · Core 5000
旧手机
5 min read · Core 5000
看场合
5 min read · Core 1000
最老的门
5 min read · Core 5000
那件事
5 min read · Core 5000
那两分呢？
5 min read · Core 5000
小芳的钥匙
5 min read · Core 5000
我老公找路
5 min read · Core 5000
欢迎再来
5 min read · Core 5000
被你发现了
5 min read · Core 5000
三条腿
5 min read · Core 5000
有钱没时间
5 min read · Core 5000
中间的树
5 min read · Core 5000
走廊上的翻译
5 min read · Core 5000
Grammar articles
(40)Mandarin Adjectives Before Nouns: When to Use 的 (de)
Advanced Mandarin Grammar (C1-C2, HSK 6): What Changes
About and Around in Mandarin: 左右, 大概, 差不多, 几 and 来
Mandarin Causatives: 使 (shǐ), 令 (lìng) and 让 (ràng)
Mandarin Grammar Cheatsheet: The Essentials, One Page
Chinese Characters and Radicals: How Hanzi Are Built
Mandarin 除了...以外: Except, or Besides?
Mandarin Measure Words (Classifiers): The Core 12 and 个
Mandarin Verb Conjugation: Why There Isn't Any
The Mandarin Copula 是 (shì): To Be, and When to Leave It Out
大家 (Everyone) and Reflexive 自己 (Oneself) in Mandarin
Mandarin Demonstratives: 这 (zhè) and 那 (nà) With Examples
The Mandarin Particle 着 (zhe): States That Continue
二 (èr) vs 两 (liǎng): The Two Words for Two in Mandarin
Even Though and Even If in Mandarin: 虽然, 即使, 就算
There Is in Mandarin: 有, 来了一个人, 出现 and 发生
Chinese Filler Words: 嗯, 那个, 然后, 就是, 其实
Formal Mandarin Connectives: 然而, 因此, 于是 and 尽管
Mandarin Interrogative Pronouns: 谁, 什么, 哪 and 'Anyone'
就 (jiù) vs 才 (cái) in Mandarin: Early vs Late
Even in Mandarin: The 连...都/也 Construction
Mandarin 在 vs 有: Location, Existence and 上/下/里
Mandarin Negation: 不 (bù) vs 没 (méi) and Why 不有 Is Wrong
Mandarin Noun Suffixes 子, 家 and 员: Things, Experts and Members
Mandarin Time, Dates and Money: 点, 年月日 and 块
Mandarin Numbers: How Chinese Counting Works, 0 to 亿
Mandarin Spoken Passives: 让 (ràng), 叫 (jiào) and 给 (gěi)
Mandarin Possession with 有 (yǒu): To Have
Mandarin Question Words: 什么, 谁, 哪儿 and the Full List
Mandarin Relative Clauses: The Clause Goes Before 的
Mandarin 所 (suǒ): 所有, 所谓, 所 + Verb and 为...所
The Three de in Mandarin: 的 vs 得 vs 地
Reported Speech in Mandarin: 听说 and 说
Mandarin Topic-Comment Structure: Fronting the Object
Chinese Sentence Structure: Mandarin Word Order Rules
一点儿也不 (yìdiǎnr yě bù): Not at All in Mandarin
The Mandarin 于 (yú) Family: 对于, 关于, 由于, 至于, 属于, 位于, 终于
越来越 and 越…越 in Mandarin: More and More, the More the More
The Mandarin Suffix 者 (zhě): 作者, 读者, 记者
Mandarin 之 (zhī): 之一, 之间, 三分之一 and 总之
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Mandarin · Free printables
人: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "人" (person, people): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
This word is taught in chapter 2, lesson 3: 人, 去, 很 and 11 more words.