咱 meaning and stroke order
I or me; we (including both the speaker and the person spoken to)
How to write 咱, stroke by stroke
9 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 咱
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- I or me
- we (including both the speaker and the person spoken to)
- variant of 咱[zan2]
- see 咱[zan2]
How 咱 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mouth.
口 gives the meaning and 自 hints at the sound.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 咱
咱 combines 口 (mouth) with 自 (self). When your mouth speaks of yourself and the listener together, you say 咱 (zán), "we" that includes you.
咱 is most often used as 咱们 (zánmen), an inclusive "we" that always includes the person you are talking to. It sounds warm and is very common in speech, especially in northern China. Example: 咱们走吧。(Zánmen zǒu ba.) Let's go.
Common mistake: Learners often use 咱们 when the listener is not included. If you say "We (my team and I, not you) will handle it," use 我们 (wǒmen), not 咱们. Also remember the tone is second tone, zán, not zǎn.
Common words with 咱
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
咱 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 咱
How many strokes are in 咱?
咱 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 咱 mean?
咱 (zán) means I or me; we (including both the speaker and the person spoken to). A common word with it is 咱们 (zánmen), meaning "we or us (including both the speaker and the person(s) spoken to); (dialect) I or me".
How do you pronounce 咱?
咱 is pronounced zán, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 咱?
The radical of 咱 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 咱 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 咱?
The traditional form of 咱 is 偺 and 喒. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 咱 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 咱 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 咱 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
What is the difference between 咱们 and 我们?
咱们 (zánmen) always includes the listener, like "you and I." 我们 (wǒmen) can include or exclude the listener. In southern China many speakers just use 我们 for both.
Why is 咱家 pronounced zájiā and not zánjiā?
The reading zá appears in the older or dialectal word 咱家 (zájiā), meaning "I" or "me," often heard in historical dramas. If you mean "our home," many speakers say 咱家 with zán, as in 咱家 (zán jiā) "our family."