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ChineseGrammarWiki


			
				
					
						
						
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<p>When describing others, we can use the word 人家 (rénjia) or 别人 (biéren). But 人家 also has other grammatical uses, which we will explore in this article.</p>
<h2 id="both-mean-others">Both mean &quot;others&quot;</h2>
<p>人家 and 别人 both refer to others besides the speaker and the listener. However, 人家 is more colloquial.</p>
<h3 id="structure">Structure</h3>
<div class="jiegou">
<p>Verb + 人家／别人</p>
</div>
<h3 id="examples">Examples</h3>
<p>These sentences mean the same thing:</p>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>我 不 在乎 <em>人家</em> 怎么 说。<span class="expl">Slightly more colloquial</span></li>
<li>我 不 在乎 <em>别人</em> 怎么 说。<span class="trans">I don't care what other people say.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="人家-can-mean-i">人家 can mean &quot;I&quot;</h2>
<p>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.</p>
<h3 id="structure-1">Structure</h3>
<div class="jiegou">
<p>人家 + [Rest of Sentence]</p>
</div>
<h3 id="examples-1">Examples</h3>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>因为 <em>人家</em> 喜欢 你 嘛。<span class="trans">Because I like you!</span></li>
<li>讨厌，老是 拿 <em>人家</em> 开玩笑 。<span class="trans">You meanie, always making fun of me.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="人家-can-mean-a-certain-him-or-her">人家 can mean a certain &quot;him&quot; or &quot;her&quot;</h2>
<p>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.</p>
<h3 id="structure-2">Structure</h3>
<div class="jiegou">
<p>Subj. + Verb + 人家</p>
</div>
<h3 id="examples-2">Examples</h3>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>你 快 去 给 <em>人家</em> 道歉。<span class="trans">Quickly go and apologize to her.</span></li>
<li>你 看 <em>人家</em> 升职 升 得 多 快，你呢？<span class="trans">You see him getting promoted quickly. What about you?</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="人家-can-mean-residents">人家 can mean &quot;residents&quot;</h2>
<p>人家 can also mean residents or inhabitants.</p>
<h3 id="examples-3">Examples</h3>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>这里 很 少 有 <em>人家</em> 。<span class="trans">There are very few residents here.</span></li>
<li>前面 有 一 户 <em>人家</em>，我们 去 看看 吧 。<span class="trans">There's a family out front. Let's go see them.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further reading</h2>
<h3 id="books">Books</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="对外汉语教学语法释疑201例" class="uri" title="wikilink">对外汉语教学语法释疑201例</a> (人家vs别人 p.81) <a href="http://www.amazon.cn/%E7%8E%B0%E4%BB%A3%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E5%85%AB%E7%99%BE%E8%AF%8D/dp/B001198GSW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1345693275&amp;sr=8-1">→buy</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="现代汉语八百词（增订本）" class="uri" title="wikilink">现代汉语八百词（增订本）</a> (人家p.463) <a href="http://www.amazon.cn/%E7%8E%B0%E4%BB%A3%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E5%85%AB%E7%99%BE%E8%AF%8D/dp/B001198GSW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1345693275&amp;sr=8-1">→buy</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="dictionaries">Dictionaries</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="现代汉语词典（第5版）" class="uri" title="wikilink">现代汉语词典（第5版）</a> (人家1145) <a href="http://www.amazon.cn/%E7%8E%B0%E4%BB%A3%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E8%AF%8D%E5%85%B8/dp/B001B1RZCI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1345693609&amp;sr=8-1">→buy</a></li>
</ul>
<p>    </p>
<p><a href="Category:grammar_comparison" title="wikilink">Category:grammar comparison</a></p>