Chinese Vocabulary · 中文词汇
People Related Words in Chinese
与人相关的词汇 yǔ rén xiāngguān de cíhuì
Before we get into the vocab, here’s a question: do you know how big China’s population is? It’s well over 1.4 billion people — around 18% of everyone on the planet, making China the most populous country in the world. That’s a massive number of people, which means learning Chinese opens the door to some pretty massive markets and opportunities.
People, in general
People Related Words in Chinese 1
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | Korean | Japanese |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 行人 | xíngrén | Passerby | 행인 | 行人 |
| 人口 | rénkǒu | Population | 인구 | 人口 |
| 亿 | yì | Hundred million | 억 | 億 |
| 人们 | rénmen | People | 사람들 | 人々 |
| 人数 | rénshù | Number of people | 사람 수 | 人数 |
| 好人 | hǎorén | Good person | 좋은 사람 | 好い人 |
| 坏人 | huàirén | Bad person | 나쁜 사람 | 悪人 |
| 爱人 | àirén | Spouse (CN) / Lover (TW) | 남편/아내 | 夫/妻 |
| 老朋友 | lǎo péngyou | Old friend | 오랜 친구 | 古い友達 |
| 自己 | zìjǐ | Myself | 자기 | 自分 |
| 咱 | zán | We, us | 우리(들) | 私たち |
| 咱们 | zánmen | We, us | 우리(들) | 私たち |
爱人 (àirén)
This word means different things depending on where you are. In China, it means “husband” or “wife.” In Taiwan, it means “lover” — but not in the sense of a boyfriend or girlfriend.
Putting it all together
Examples
這位是我先生这位是我爱人 This is my husband. (Taiwan says 先生, China says 愛人/爱人)
咱 / 咱们 vs 我们
咱 (zán) and 咱们 (zánmen) mean the same thing, and both always include the listener along with the speaker. 我们 (wǒmen) doesn’t carry that guarantee — sometimes it leaves the listener out.
我們老家的水果最好吃了我们老家的水果最好吃了 Our hometown has the best fruit! (listener and speaker may not share the same hometown)
咱(們)老家的水果最好吃了咱(们)老家的水果最好吃了 Our hometown has the best fruit! (listener and speaker must share the same hometown)
Crowds, travelers, and more
People Related Words in Chinese 2
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | Korean | Japanese |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 大家 | dàjiā | Everyone | 다들 | 皆 |
| 个子 | gèzi | Height | 체격 | 体格 |
| 留学生 | liúxuéshēng | Student studying abroad | 유학생 | 留学生 |
| 旅客 | lǚkè | Traveller | 여행자 | 旅客 |
| 游客 | yóukè | Tourist | 관광객 | 観光客 |
| 明星 | míngxīng | Star (celebrity) | 스타 | スター |
| 全家 | quánjiā | Whole family | 전 가족 | 家族全員 |
| 全身 | quánshēn | Whole body | 전신 | 全身 |
| 全体 | quántǐ | Everybody (as a group) | 전체 | 全体 |
Putting it all together
Examples
我爸爸的個子不太高我爸爸的个子不太高 My father isn’t very tall.
我們全家都愛吃辣我们全家都爱吃辣 My whole family loves spicy food.
Test yourself
Vocabulary Quiz
