们 meaning in English
plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals
Meaning of 们
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals
How to use 们
们 attaches to pronouns and to nouns for people to make them plural, and it is read in the neutral tone. 我们 (wǒmen) means we, 他们 (tāmen) means they, and 朋友们 (péngyoumen) means friends. Example: 同学们，早上好。(Tóngxuémen, zǎoshang hǎo.) Good morning, classmates.
们 is built from 亻 (person) and 门 (mén, door), which also gives the sound. Picture a group of people crowding through a door, so 们 turns one person into many.
Common mistake: Learners often add 们 after a number, as in 三个学生们, which is wrong because the number already shows plurality, so say 三个学生 (sān gè xuésheng). Also do not add 们 to things like books or tables, since 书们 is not used.
们 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.
们 men · plural marker for pronouns · 5 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 们.
| 我们 | wǒmen | we; us; ourselves |
| 他们 | tāmen | they; them |
| 你们 | nǐmen | you (plural) |
| 她们 | tāmen | they; them (females) |
| 朋友们 | péngyoumen | |
| 它们 | tāmen | they; them |
| 人们 | rénmen | people |
| 咱们 | zánmen | we or us (including both the speaker and the person(s) spoken to); (dialect) I or me |
| 哥们 | gēmen | (coll.) dude; buddy; bro |
| 哥们儿 | gēmenr | erhua form of 哥們|哥们[ge1 men5] |
| 弟兄们 | dìxiōngmen | brothers; comrades |
| 爷们 | yémen | menfolk (collective term for men of different generations); husbands and their fathers etc |
Questions about 们
What does 们 mean?
们 (men) means "plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals" and is used as a suffix.
How do you write 们?
们 is made of 1 character: 们 (5 strokes). That is 5 strokes in total.
Is 们 an HSK word?
Yes. 们 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 们 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 们 is written 們.
Is 们 pronounced mén or men?
As a plural suffix it is almost always said in the neutral tone, men, so 我们 is wǒmen. You may hear mén only when the character is read slowly on its own.
Do I always need 们 to make a plural in Chinese?
No. Nouns usually stay the same, and context shows the number, so 学生 can mean one student or many. 们 is required for pronouns like 我们, but for people nouns it is optional and often used when addressing a group, as in 朋友们.