咱们 meaning in English
we or us (including both the speaker and the person(s) spoken to); (dialect) I or me
Meaning of 咱们
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- we or us (including both the speaker and the person(s) spoken to)
- (dialect) I or me
- (dialect) (in a coaxing or familiar way) you
- also pr. [za2 men5]
How to use 咱们
咱们 means "we" or "us" when the listener is included, so it sounds warm and friendly. It is very common in spoken Chinese, especially in northern China. Example: 咱们走吧。(Zánmen zǒu ba.) Let's go.
咱 (zán) has the mouth radical 口 next to 自 (zì, self), so picture your own mouth saying "we, you and me together." Add the plural marker 们 (men) and you get 咱们, the inclusive "we."
Common mistake: Learners often use 咱们 when the listener is not part of the group. If you tell a stranger "we (my family) are going to Beijing," use 我们 (wǒmen), not 咱们. Also note the tone: 咱 is second tone, zán, not zǎn or zàn.
咱们 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.
咱 zán · I or me · 9 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
们 men · plural marker for pronouns · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Related words
Words that share a character with 咱们.
| 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 |
| 哥们 | gēmen | (coll.) dude; buddy; bro |
| 咱俩 | zánliǎ | the two of us |
| 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 咱们
What does 咱们 mean?
咱们 (zánmen) means "we or us (including both the speaker and the person(s) spoken to); (dialect) I or me" and is used as a pronoun.
How do you write 咱们?
咱们 is made of 2 characters: 咱 (9 strokes), 们 (5 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.
Is 咱们 an HSK word?
Yes. 咱们 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 咱们 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 咱们 is written 咱們.
Can I always use 我们 instead of 咱们?
Yes. 我们 can mean either inclusive or exclusive "we," so it is always grammatically safe. 咱们 simply makes it clear that the listener is included and adds a friendly, casual feel.
Is 咱们 used in southern China and in formal writing?
It is much more typical of northern and Beijing speech. Many southern speakers rarely use it, and formal writing usually prefers 我们. You may also hear 咱 (zán) alone, which in some dialects means "I" or "we."