Meaning of 人家
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- other people
- sb else
- he, she or they
- I, me (referring to oneself as "one" or "people")
- household
- dwelling
- family
- sb else's house
- household business
- house of woman's husband-to-be
Measure word: 戶|户,家
How to use 人家
As a pronoun, 人家 (rénjia) means other people, a specific he or she, or playfully "me" when someone sounds a little shy or sulky. 人家 can follow a name to point at that person, as in 小王人家, and as a noun (rénjiā) it means a household. Example: 人家都走了，你怎么还在这儿？ (Rénjia dōu zǒu le, nǐ zěnme hái zài zhèr?) Everyone else has left, so why are you still here?
人 (rén) means person and 家 (jiā) means home or family, so 人家 is literally "a person's home." Read with a full tone as rénjiā it means a household, and with a light second syllable as rénjia it points to "those people" or someone else.
Common mistake: Learners often say rénjiā with a full first tone on 家 when they mean the pronoun. The pronoun is rénjia with a neutral tone, and rénjiā means household. Also do not use 人家 for "me" in serious or formal speech, because it sounds cute or sulky.
人家 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.
人 rén · person · 2 strokes
- 1
- 2
家 jiā · home · 10 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
Related words
Words that share a character with 人家.
| 女人 | nǚrén | woman |
| 男人 | nánrén | a man; a male |
| 回家 | huí jiā | to return home |
| 别人 | biérén | other people; others; other person |
| 国家 | guójiā | country; nation; state |
| 家里 | jiā li | home |
| 家人 | jiārén | family member; (old) servant |
| 在家 | zàijiā | to be at home; (at a workplace) to be in (as opposed to being away on official business 出差 |
| 病人 | bìngrén | sick person; patient |
| 工人 | gōngrén | worker |
| 老人 | lǎorén | old man or woman; the elderly |
| 大家 | dàjiā | everyone; influential family |
Questions about 人家
What does 人家 mean?
人家 (rénjia) means "other people; sb else" and is used as a pronoun.
How do you write 人家?
人家 is made of 2 characters: 人 (2 strokes), 家 (10 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 人家 an HSK word?
Yes. 人家 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 人家 and 别人?
别人 (biérén) is a neutral word for others in general. 人家 can mean the same thing, but it often points to a specific person both speakers know, and it carries more feeling, such as envy, complaint, or comparison.
Why do some people use 人家 to mean "I"?
Using 人家 for oneself sounds coy, cute, or slightly sulky, as in 人家不想去嘛 (Rénjia bù xiǎng qù ma), meaning "I don't want to go." It is common in casual talk, especially between close friends or partners.