(zán men) - we, us (inclusive: speaker and listener) in Mandarin
zánmenTraditional: 咱們
Translation
we, us (inclusive: speaker and listener)
Word origin
咱们 (zánmen) is the inclusive 'we', formed from 咱 (zán) 'I, we' plus the plural suffix 们 (men). 咱 combines 口 (kǒu, 'mouth') with 自 (zì, 'self') as its phonetic hint; 们 is the human plural marker built from the 亻person radical and 门 (mén) as phonetic.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 咱 (zán, 'I/we') + 们 (men, plural suffix: 亻person + 门 phonetic)
Stroke order
咱
们
Examples
。
Let's go together.
。
We are family.
。
Let's have a good talk.
。
Let us go and see a film together.
。
We are all old friends.
咱们 (zán men) is an inclusive first-person plural pronoun meaning we/us that explicitly includes both the speaker and the listener. This contrasts with 我们 (wǒ men), which can be either inclusive (including the listener) or exclusive (just the speaker's group, not the listener). In everyday Northern Mandarin speech, 咱们 is very common for invitations and shared activities (咱们一起去, let's all go). It is less formal than 我们 and carries a warm, in-group feeling.
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咱们: worksheet, infographic and listicle
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 13.