About
The character "你" for the second-person pronoun developed from the classical Chinese form "尔", which historically served the same function, by incorporating the person radical "亻" to create a compound that explicitly denotes a human referent. This structural adaptation produced a phono-semantic configuration where the radical contributes meaning related to a person while the component "尔" offers phonetic guidance, a process that allowed for clearer differentiation in written language. Over time, this reinforced character gradually solidified as the standard form for addressing an individual or group, maintaining its essential pronominal role while becoming more visually distinct from its etymological source.
Example Sentences Hide
你今天很忙吗？
你喜欢喝茶吗？
你经常去公园散步。
你如果来，我就告诉你。
你学中文学得很快。
你昨天买的书很有趣。
你被老师表扬了。
当你听到这个消息时，你会很高兴。