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人

Mandarin · pinyin rén

person; people
Classifier: 個 gè, 位 wèi, 名 míng

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人: rén · man; people; mankind; someone else

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2 · ren2

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1character link7same-tone records4source references

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 29 senses · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jan2 · jan4

Cantonese word readings for 人. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

man; person; people (Classifier: 個／个 m c; 隻／只 h)
a person associated with a particular identity or trait; -er
body
everybody; everyone
other people; others
physical, psychological or moral quality or condition; character; personality (Classifier: 份 c; 個／个 c)
manpower; worker; employee
talent; person of talent
(obsolete) common people; commoner
adult; grown-up
artificial; man-made
(fantasy, mythology) were- (indicates a person who changes shape into an animal)
(Cantonese) used as a dummy pronoun; someone; others
(Zhao'an Hakka) pluralizes a personal pronoun
(obsolete) sexual intercourse
(obsolete) company; companion; friend
(obsolete) human affairs; ways of the world
(obsolete) mortal world; earthly word
(obsolete) alternative form of 仁 (rén, “kernel”)
(obsolete) alternative form of 仁 (rén, “charity”)
(obsolete) alternative form of 仁 (rén, “loving; kind”)
(Beijing Mandarin) Lenition of 人家 (rénjia).
(Taishanese) paternal grandmother
a surname

character · Etymology 2

(Coastal-Min) man; person; people; human being; Homo sapiens (Classifier: 個／个 mn; 隻／只 md)
(Coastal-Min) a person associated with a particular identity or trait; -er
(Coastal-Min) physical, psychological or moral quality or condition

character · Etymology 2

(Coastal-Min) other people
(Coastal-Min) I; me

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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