Meaning
person; human; people
Chinese: 人类、别人或个体。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “ren” becomes a different word in each tone. 人 is the 2nd tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 女人nǚ rénwoman
- 别人bié renother people; others; other person
- 男人nán réna man; a male; men
- 病人bìng rénsick person; patient; invalid
- 家人jiā rénfamily member; (old) servant
Example Sentence
每个人都可以通过学习慢慢进步。Měi gè rén dōu kě yǐ tōng guò xué xí màn màn jìn bù.Everyone can make progress little by little through learning.
Memory Note
The early form looked like a person standing from the side. The modern two strokes can be remembered as a simple human figure.
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
A pictograph of a person seen from the side: the two strokes show the body and a leg in motion. It is one of the oldest Chinese characters and appears inside many others, often written as the radical 亻.
A way to remember it
Two legs in mid-stride — a single person walking.