Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 人 | rén | /ɻən³⁵/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /ɹən²¹/ (Mandarin, Chengdu, Sinological IPA) |
|
| 人類 / 人类 | rénlèi | ||
| 儂 / 侬 | lâng | Hokkien |
The term is used to denote a human being. Depending on whether you are referring to an individual or the entire species, different forms are used.
Which one should you use?
人 is used to refer to a human being as an individual or a general concept of personhood. In contrast, 人类 is used when referring to the human race or humanity as a collective species, meaning 'human beings' or 'humanity'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The form жын (romanization: řɨn) is used in Dungan, while 儂 / 侬 (romanization: lâng) is used in Hokkien.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
To create an adjectival form that describes qualities or possessions belonging to a human, you can add 的 to the noun to form 人的. Similarly, 人类的 can be used to mean 'of or belonging to the species Homo sapiens'.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization for 人 is rén. The IPA is /ɻən³⁵/.
Did you know?
- The term 儂 used in southern varieties may not be native to Chinese at all, but could be a substrate word from the Kra-Dai language family.
- The character 人 is a pictogram that depicts a person from a side view, emphasizing a single arm and a leg.
- In many written forms, the character 人 is represented by the radical 亻, which is a specialized version of the character used when it appears on the left side of a word.
Examples in context
- 妇女也是人。Women are also human beings.This sentence is useful for demonstrating how to use 人 to refer to human beings.Tatoeba #7771903 by jiangche, translation #13323689 by Adelpa
- 它是基本人权。It's a basic human right.This sentence shows how 人 is used in the context of human rights.Tatoeba #5613655 by verdastelo9604, translation #1983986 by Spamster
- 它是人的天性。It's human nature.This sentence illustrates the use of 人 in describing human nature.Tatoeba #6109285 by verdastelo9604, translation #1883081 by Spamster
- 人类的尊严Human dignity
- 63 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing a sci-fi movie in a cafe.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen电影里的那个机器人像人一样。Diànyǐng lǐ de nàge jīqìrén xiàng rén yīyàng.That robot in the movie is just like a human.
- 伟 Wei是的，他甚至有人的感情。Shì de, tā shènzhì yǒu rén de gǎnqíng.Yes, he even has human emotions.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen这种设定真的很吸引人。Zhè zhǒng shèdìng zhēn de hěn xīyǐn rén.This kind of setting is really attractive to people.
- 伟 Wei我也觉得这个故事很有趣。Wǒ yě juéde zhège gùshì hěn yǒuqù.I also think this story is very interesting.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “human” translations and entries 人, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 人, 儂, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
