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HSK 1

人

person; people

nounneutral
人
rén2nd tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
rén
Part of speech
noun
Level
HSK 1
Strokes
2
Register
neutral
Measure word
个 / 位

Stroke order for 人

人 is written with 2 strokes. The animation replays automatically.

What does 人 mean?

人 (rén) is the basic noun for 'person' or 'people' and one of the first characters every Chinese child learns to write — it's just two strokes, picturing a standing person with legs apart.

It's both singular and plural: 一个人 means 'one person,' 很多人 means 'many people,' and bare 人 in context can mean 'humans / mankind.' It pairs with country names to form nationality words: 中国人 (Chinese person), 美国人 (American), 法国人 (French person).

It also appears in countless compounds: 男人 (man), 女人 (woman), 家人 (family member), 大人 (adult). In English the line between 'person' and 'people' depends on number; in Chinese 人 covers both, and the measure word (个 for casual, 位 for polite) does the counting work.

Example sentences

我是中国人。

Wǒ shì Zhōngguó rén.

I'm Chinese.

neutral

这儿有很多人。

Zhèr yǒu hěn duō rén.

There are a lot of people here.

spoken

他是一个好人。

Tā shì yí ge hǎo rén.

He's a good person.

neutral

我一个人去。

Wǒ yí ge rén qù.

I'll go alone.

spoken

Common phrases with 人

一个人yí ge rénone person; alone
中国人Zhōngguó rénChinese person
很多人hěn duō rénmany people
好人hǎo réna good person
家人jiārénfamily member

Synonyms

人们rénmen

人们 explicitly means 'people' (plural, generic), used in writing and formal contexts: 人们都喜欢 ('everyone likes'). Spoken Chinese usually just says 人 or 大家.

位wèi

位 is a polite measure word for people (一位老师 = 'a teacher'), not a synonym in meaning, but a respectful alternative to 个 when counting. It signals deference.

Don't confuse 人 with

入rù

入 means 'to enter' and looks almost identical to 人 — the top stroke goes the other way. 入 starts with the rightward stroke first; 人 starts with the leftward stroke. Tiny shape difference, completely different meaning.

大dà

大 ('big') is 人 with a horizontal line across — a person with arms outstretched = 'big.' Visually related, but different word and stroke count.

八bā

八 ('eight') also has two strokes that look like legs, but they curve outward and don't meet at the top. 人 meets at a peak; 八 has a gap.

FAQ

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