个人 meaning in English
an individual; oneself; (attributive) personal; one's own
Meaning of 个人
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- an individual; oneself; (attributive) personal; one's own
How to use 个人
个人 is used as a noun for "the individual" and very often before another noun to mean "personal", as in 个人信息 (gèrén xìnxī, personal information). It also appears in phrases giving your own view. Example: 我个人认为这个办法不错。(Wǒ gèrén rènwéi zhège bànfǎ búcuò.) Personally, I think this method is good.
个 (gè) is the everyday measure word for counting single things, and 人 (rén) means person. Put them together and you get one single person: an individual, as opposed to a group.
Common mistake: Learners often read 个人 as the counting phrase 一个人 (yí ge rén, one person / alone), but 个人 is a single word and 个 keeps its full fourth tone, gèrén, not the neutral ge of the measure word. To say "alone", use 一个人, not 个人.
个人 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
个 gè · classifier used before a noun that has … · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
人 rén · person · 2 strokes
- 1
- 2
Related words
Words that share a character with 个人.
| 女人 | nǚrén | woman |
| 男人 | nánrén | a man; a male |
| 别人 | biérén | other people; others; other person |
| 家人 | jiārén | family member; (old) servant |
| 病人 | bìngrén | sick person; patient |
| 工人 | gōngrén | worker |
| 老人 | lǎorén | old man or woman; the elderly |
| 有人 | yǒu rén | someone; people |
| 人们 | rénmen | people |
| 大人 | dàren | adult; grownup |
| 客人 | kèrén | visitor; guest; customer |
| 好人 | hǎorén | good person; healthy person |
Questions about 个人
What does 个人 mean?
个人 (gèrén) means "an individual; oneself; (attributive) personal; one's own" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 个人?
个人 is made of 2 characters: 个 (3 strokes), 人 (2 strokes). That is 5 strokes in total.
Is 个人 an HSK word?
Yes. 个人 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 个人 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 个人 is written 個人.
What is the difference between 个人 and 自己?
自己 (zìjǐ) means "oneself" and refers back to someone already mentioned, as in 他自己做 (he does it himself). 个人 contrasts the individual with a group or organization, as in 个人和集体 (the individual and the collective), or means "personal".
How do I say "personally" or "in my opinion" with 个人?
Put 个人 right after the pronoun: 我个人觉得 (wǒ gèrén juéde) or 我个人认为 (wǒ gèrén rènwéi), meaning "I personally think". This softens your opinion and shows it is only your own view.