About
The character 咱, functioning as a pronoun in Chinese, etymologically derives from a vernacular blend of the self-referential term 自 (zì) and the dialectal first-person pronoun 俺 (ǎn), indicating its roots in colloquial northern speech during the medieval period. Its structure combines the mouth radical 口 with 自, visually implying a self-designation expressed verbally, which aligns with its initial usage primarily as a singular "I" in early vernacular texts. Over subsequent centuries, particularly through its prevalence in Yuan dynasty drama and later vernacular literature, the term gradually expanded its semantic scope to become an inclusive first-person plural, meaning "we" that encompasses the speaker and the listener, while retaining its singular sense in certain dialectal contexts, thus reflecting a functional shift influenced by linguistic practice and regional usage.
Example Sentences Hide
咱们是好朋友。
咱们去公园玩。
咱们今天吃饺子。
咱们一起学习中文。
咱们明天去看电影吧。
咱们得赶紧完成作业。
咱们公司今年业绩很好。
咱们要是早点出发，就不会迟到了。