Comparing "renjia" and "bieren"

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.

Used as "others"

人家 and 别人 both refer to others besides the speaker and the listener. However, 人家 is more colloquial.

Examples

人家 and 别人 are interchangeable in these sentences below.

• 我 不 在乎 人家 怎么 说 。I don't care about what other people say.
• 人家 怎么 想 跟 我 怎么 知道 ？How possibly can I know what others think?

人家 as "I" or "me"

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.

Examples

• 因为 人家 喜欢 你 啊 。Because I like you!
• 讨厌 ！老是 拿 人家 开玩笑 。You are annoying, always making fun of me.

人家 as "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.

Examples

• 你 快 给 人家 道歉 。Apologize to her now.
• 你 看 人家 多 聪明 ！Look at him! How smart he is!

人家 as "residents"

人家 can also mean residents or inhabitants.

Examples

• 这个 小区 有 多少 户 人家 ？How many residents here.
• 村子 里 现在 只 剩 十几 户 人家 了 。There.

Sources and further reading

Books

• 对外汉语教学语法释疑201例 (pp. 81) [ →buy]
• 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (pp. 463) [ →buy]

Dictionaries

• 现代汉语词典（第5版） (pp. 1145) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy