Listen to this articleFrom a simple greeting to forming complex sentences, learning the Chinese character for “you” is integral to conversing in Chinese.
Here is a quick explanation on which type of “you” to use depending on the situation, what the character symbolizes, and how to pronounce it.
INFORMAL, FORMAL, AND PLURAL
The informal way to say “you” in Chinese is 你 (nǐ). This form of “you” is casually used to address friends, peers, anyone you have a close relationship with, and typically people who are younger than you.
The formal version of “you” is 您 (nín). 您 should be used when addressing elders, respected figures, and persons of higher rank or status.
If you are addressing multiple people at once, “you” in plural is 你 们 (nǐ men).
RADICALS
The Chinese character 你 is composed of a crown or cover (冖) that goes over 小, which on its own is the word for “small.” The left half of the character consists of the radical: 亻. This radical derives from the character 人 (rén) which translates to person or people. Thus, 亻is the person radical which implies that the meaning of the character relates to people.
PRONUNCIATION
你 (nǐ) is in the third tone, which takes on a falling then rising tone. When uttering the syllable, start from a high pitch, go down, and come back up.
您 (nín) is in the second tone. This is a rising tone, which means you start from a low pitch then go upwards.
CHARACTER EVOLUTION
An earlier form of “you” in Chinese was a pictograph of a balanced load.
This symbol was later simplified to the character 尔. Eventually, the person radical was added. In its current form, 你 could be read as “someone who is balanced, or of equal stature” – meaning “you.”
MANDARIN VOCABULARY WITH NǏ
Now that you know how to write and say “you” in Chinese, it’s time to apply your knowledge!
Here are a few examples of common Chinese words and phrases that include 你.
你好 (nǐ hǎo) – Hello
你自己 (nǐ zì jǐ) – Yourself
我爱你 (wǒ ài nǐ) – I love you
迷你 (mí nǐ) – Mini (a phonetic translation)
祝你生日快乐 (zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè) – Happy birthday
