Comparing "renjia" and "bieren"

When describing others, we can use the word 人家 (rénjia) or 别人 (biérén). But 人家 also has other grammatical uses, which we will explore in this article.

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Both can mean "others"

人家 and 别人 both refer to others besides the speaker and the listener. However, 人家 is more colloquial.

人家 and 别人 are interchangeable in these sentences below.

Multiple Meanings

人家 can be used to refer to yourself, and it is often used this way by women, giving it a sort of girly, shy, tender feeling.

人家 as "him" or "her"

人家 can also refer to someone previously referred to (in the context of the conversation or body of text) or it can refer to a certain someone that both the speaker and listener know.

人家 as "residents"

人家 can also refer to households. In this case, it's pronounced as "rénjiā." This use is going to be the least common in everyday spoken Chinese.

Sources and further reading

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