咱

偺/喒
zán, zá
口 + 自

Definitions

zán (pronoun) I; we (informal, including both speaker and listener)

Etymology

Pronoun referring to oneself (自). 口 is added to distinguish from 自.

Semantic: 口 Phonetic: 自

About

咱 combines the mouth radical 口 on the left with 自 on the right, which was originally a pronoun meaning 'oneself'; the mouth was added to distinguish this new colloquial pronoun from 自. Emerging relatively late, it functions as an informal first-person pronoun, most often expressing the inclusive 'we' (speaker and listener), but sometimes used as singular 'I' in certain dialects. It is confined to spoken language and informal writing, not formal literature.

Example Sentences Hide

咱们是好朋友。

Zánmen shì hǎo péngyǒu.

We are good friends.

咱们去公园玩。

Zánmen qù gōngyuán wán.

Let's go to the park to play.

咱们今天吃饺子。

Zánmen jīntiān chī jiǎozi.

We are eating dumplings today.

咱们一起学习中文。

Zánmen yīqǐ xuéxí Zhōngwén.

Let's study Chinese together.

咱们明天去看电影吧。

Zánmen míngtiān qù kàn diànyǐng ba.

Let's go watch a movie tomorrow.

咱们得赶紧完成作业。

Zánmen děi gǎnjǐn wánchéng zuòyè.

We need to finish our homework quickly.

咱们公司今年业绩很好。

Zánmen gōngsī jīnnián yèjì hěn hǎo.

Our company's performance this year is very good.

咱们要是早点出发，就不会迟到了。

Zánmen yàoshi zǎo diǎn chūfā, jiù bù huì chídào le.

If we had left earlier, we wouldn't have been late.

Related Characters

Component: 口

中 和 可 后 如 同 只 知 高 问 向 或 加 合

Component: 自

自 息 首 鼻 臭 瘪 憩 臬 洎 邉 臯 㿜 垍 夒

Example Words

咱们 咱俩 咱家 多咱 这咱 那咱