Difference between revisions of "Comparing "renjia" and "bieren""
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人家 can be used to refer to yourself, and it is often used this way by women, giving it a sort of girly, shy, tender feeling. | 人家 can be used to refer to yourself, and it is often used this way by women, giving it a sort of girly, shy, tender feeling. | ||
| − | |||
=== Structure === | === Structure === | ||
<div class="jiegou"> | <div class="jiegou"> | ||
| − | 人家 + | + | 人家 + [Rest of Sentence] |
</div> | </div> | ||
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<div class="liju"> | <div class="liju"> | ||
* 因为 <em>人家</em> 喜欢 你 嘛。<span class="trans">Because I like you!</span> | * 因为 <em>人家</em> 喜欢 你 嘛。<span class="trans">Because I like you!</span> | ||
| − | * 讨厌，老是 拿 <em>人家</em> | + | * 讨厌，老是 拿 <em>人家</em> 开玩笑 。<span class="trans">You meanie, always making fun of me.</span> |
</div> | </div> | ||
Revision as of 00:43, 13 April 2017
When describing others, we can use the word 人家 (rénjia) or 别人 (biéren). But 人家 also has other grammatical uses, which we will explore in this article.
Contents
Both mean "others"
人家 and 别人 both refer to others besides the speaker and the listener. However, 人家 is more colloquial.
Structure
Verb + 人家／别人
Examples
These sentences mean the same thing:
- 我 不 在乎 人家 怎么 说。Slightly more colloquial
- 我 不 在乎 别人 怎么 说。I don't care what other people say.
人家 can mean "I"
人家 can be used to refer to yourself, and it is often used this way by women, giving it a sort of girly, shy, tender feeling.
Structure
人家 + [Rest of Sentence]
Examples
- 因为 人家 喜欢 你 嘛。Because I like you!
- 讨厌，老是 拿 人家 开玩笑 。You meanie, always making fun of me.
人家 can mean a certain "him" or "her"
人家 can also refer to someone previously referred to (in the context of the conversation or body of text) or it can refer to a certain someone that both the speaker and listener know.
Structure
Subj. + Verb + 人家
Examples
- 你 快 去 给 人家 道歉。Quickly go and apologize to her.
- 你 看 人家 升职 升 得 多 快，你呢？You see him getting promoted quickly. What about you?
人家 can mean "residents"
人家 can also mean residents or inhabitant.
Structure
人家
Examples
- 这里 很 少 有 人家。There are very few residents here.
- 前面 有 一 户 人家，我们 去 看看 吧。There's a family out front. Let's go see them.
Sources and further reading
Books
- 对外汉语教学语法释疑201例 (人家vs别人 p.81) →buy
- 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (人家p.463) →buy
Dictionaries
- 现代汉语词典（第5版） (人家1145) →buy
