rén
person; people
Meanings & readings
Meanings & dictionary uses
2 senses · 6 wordsA human being, people, or humanity. Number is usually supplied by the surrounding phrase rather than by changing 人 itself.
A person identified through relationship, occupation, or contrast with oneself. These are ordinary words, not literal labels reconstructed from ancient pictures.
Languages & readings
Choose a recorded reading. Explore other varieties through their reference sources below.
Mandarin
Sense-linked readingsReadings & meanings
Usage scope
Regional and word-specific qualifications remain attached to the sense and vocabulary records.
Cantonese
Selected character readingSource & reading limitations
Jyutping · Unihan 17.0.0
This property supplies a customary character reading for collation and transliteration. It does not list every reading or identify the reading for each word and sense. It also does not encode a separate regional label for each value.
Other Chinese languages & varieties
Reference guides · character readings not yet imported.
Taiwanese Hokkien 臺灣台語Reference sources only
The Ministry of Education dictionary is the reference for Taiwanese vocabulary and readings. Its Tâi-lô guide distinguishes citation tones from changes in connected speech. Other Hokkien varieties require their own sources.
- Reference variety
- Taiwanese Hokkien, with the regional distinctions recorded by Taiwan's Ministry of Education
- Notation
- Tâi-lô (臺羅), as used by the linked MOE dictionary
Hakka 客語Reference sources only
Taiwan's Ministry of Education documents six Hakka varieties separately. Choose the variety before comparing readings; a single undifferentiated Hakka pronunciation would hide meaningful differences.
- Reference variety
- Taiwan: Sixian, Hailu, Dapu, Raoping, Zhao'an and Southern Sixian
- Notation
- Taiwan Hakka Romanization System (臺灣客語拼音方案)
Teochew 潮州話／潮汕話Reference sources only
Explore CUHK's published Chaozhou lexicon and its separate Shantou sound table. These reference locations remain explicit: readings from one locality should not stand in for every Teochew variety.
- Reference variety
- Chaozhou lexicon; separate Shantou syllable-table resource
- Notation
- Source phonetic transcription; no shared local romanization imported
Wu 吳語・上海話Reference sources only
The linked university resource documents Shanghai. Wu also includes other local varieties; Shanghai readings should retain that location label when compared with Mandarin or Cantonese.
- Reference variety
- Shanghai
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Eastern Min 閩東語・福州話Reference sources only
Fuzhou is an Eastern Min reference variety. Its dedicated CUHK sound table offers a starting point; other Eastern Min localities need distinct records and source attribution.
- Reference variety
- Fuzhou
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Gan 贛語・南昌話Reference sources only
Begin with CUHK's Nanchang sound table. The broader Gan group contains local differences, so future readings should identify Nanchang or another documented locality explicitly.
- Reference variety
- Nanchang
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Xiang 湘語・長沙話Reference sources only
Begin with CUHK's Changsha sound table. Keep Changsha separate from other Xiang localities when adding readings; the group name does not denote one uniform pronunciation.
- Reference variety
- Changsha
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Readings in Japanese, Korean & Vietnamese
Readings recorded for 人 in other language traditions. These are character-level records, not word translations or interchangeable pronunciations.
Japanese 日本語
Grouped by the source’s kana notation; no frequency ranking is implied.
On’yomi · katakana
Kun’yomi · hiragana
Katakana generally indicates on’yomi; hiragana generally indicates kun’yomi. The source does not identify everyday, rare, historical or name use per reading. Kana strings are preserved, including any written endings; consult a Japanese word entry for actual use.
Go deeperJisho ↗Wiktionary ↗
Korean 한국어
Hanja readings · Hangul
Source codes are separated below. They are neither sounds nor tones; a character reading alone does not specify a whole word’s pronunciation.
Go deeperNaver Hanja ↗Wiktionary ↗
Reading sources explained
- 인
- KS X 1001 (0) · Educational Hanja (E)
Vietnamese Tiếng Việt
Character readings · Quốc ngữ
Vietnamese readings associated with this Han character. This field alone does not establish word meanings, current usage, or a complete account of Hán-Nôm reading traditions.
Go deeperHán Việt (Thi Viện) ↗Wiktionary ↗
Form & structure
Structure & components
0 direct parts- Layout
- single
- Index radical
- 人 · 9 · 0 residual strokes
人 is treated as a single component. Its two strokes spread down from their meeting point. The left-side form 亻 is narrower because it occupies only part of a character square. A graph may contain 人 or 亻 visibly without that observation alone explaining the full character’s origin or pronunciation.
Follow the recorded parts
recorded boundaryA boundary means no finer analysis is published here; it does not assert an indivisible unit. Radical classification and component structure are separate.
Inspect the component network ↗Writing
2 strokesModern stroke order; regional conventions can differ. [47]
Words & connections
Examples
2 sentences公園裡有很多人。
公园里有很多人。
There are many people in the park.
我的家人都住在這裡。
我的家人都住在这里。
My family all live here.
Original editorial sentences. Pinyin uses dictionary tones; connected speech may differ.
Connections
0 phonetic neighboursThis pilot does not link this character to a sound (phonetic) family. Explore the other recorded relationships below.
Follow this component
Reverse links to attributed component analyses. Open each character for its role, source and words. Shared components do not establish word ancestry.
History & distinctions
Etymology & evidence
2 accountsA person in profile
CUHK describes the early graph as a person viewed from the side, standing with lowered arms. It cites oracle-bone uses referring to people and the ruler’s self-designation, and bronze uses including common people. This supports a human reference in early writing without requiring a modern stick-figure reconstruction.
Graph and use
The entry also notes early name-related and borrowed uses. Its account reminds readers that the object represented by a graph and every use of that graph are not necessarily the same question.
Reading this character · explanatory note
人 means a person or people, depending on context. Chinese does not require this noun to change shape whenever the number changes: 一個人 / 一个人 is one person, while 很多人 means many people. Compounds identify relationships and groups, including 家人, family members, and 工人, workers. CUHK interprets the early graph as a person seen from the side with the arms lowered. The modern two-stroke shape is much more compact. Inside other characters, a common related shape is 亻, but the function of that component needs to be established for each character.
Historical specimens remain at their sources. No dated attestation sequence or licensed specimen image is claimed.
Inspect CUHK’s forms and discussion ↗Forms & distinctions
人 remains the same in standard simplified and traditional writing. 人們 / 人们 and 人類 / 人类 differ in the second character. The suffix 們 / 们 does not supply a universal English-style plural rule: 很多人 is already plural in meaning without it. Learn such patterns at the phrase level.
入 rù means to enter. The strokes meet differently from 人; take particular care in handwriting and small fonts.
八 bā means eight. Its upper strokes are normally separated, unlike the joined upper meeting of 人.
亻 is a contextual component form associated with 人. It normally occupies the left-hand part of a larger character and is not used in place of 人 as an ordinary word.
Historical readings
- Middle Chinese
- nyin · 如鄰 反切 · #406
Guangyun-based transcriptions · PHONO-ML · CC BY 4.0. These describe historical reading categories, not modern word pronunciation.
Source row & reading categories
CSV line 3490 · nyin = 臻開三平眞日
Automatically generated in the source dataset; the authors checked a subset and acknowledge possible errors. All source readings are retained separately. Notation & method ↗
Sources & reference
Sources & research
4 sourcesLocator & rights
形義通解, 略說 and 詳解; character entry · link_only · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
Release 2026-10-12T08:13:53Z. Exact word-reading locators are retained with each WordRecord. · permitted · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
17.0.0 · permitted · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
bddc96d41bef78427ed0e034e9f7e31d71fd1b92 · permitted · 2026-10-12
Open research · 1 items
- Historical specimen images and their item-level dating have not been licensed or independently checked; follow the source link to inspect its evidence.
Cited claims compared with the consulted entries; no independent expert review recorded.
Readings across dictionaries
- Hanyu Da Zidian
- rén 10101.100
- Xiandai Hanyu · 1983
- rén 0959.010
- Tongyong Guifan · 2013
- rén 313.110
- Reading counts · XDHYPLCD
- rén(16866) ren(280)
- Mandarin / Cantonese · SMSZD
- rén粵jan4