Chinese word

咱

Pronunciation

Pinyinzán

Meaning

  • pronounwe

Example

咱一起吃饭吧。zán yì qǐ chī fàn ba

Let's eat together.

Illustration for 咱 (we)

More examples

周末咱们去公园散步。zhōu mò zán men qù gōng yuán sàn bù

On the weekend, we go for a walk in the park.

Core concept

A speaker gathers the listener into the same group, creating a warm sense of togetherness.

Common phrases

  • 咱们一起zán men yì qǐ

    together with us

  • 咱们去zán men qù

    We go

  • 咱们走吧zán men zǒu ba

    Let's go

Similar words

我们wǒ men: A common pronoun for the speaker and other people, used in both casual and public situations.

Definition in Chinese

口语代词，指包括说话者和听话者在内的我们，语气比“我们”更亲切随意。kóu yǔ dài cí zhǐ bāo kuò shuō huà zhě hé tīng huà zhě zài nèi de wǒ men yǔ qì bǐ wǒ men gèng qīn qiè suí yì

Word origin

咱 (zán, "we") combines 口 (kǒu, "mouth"), marking a spoken word, with 自 (zì, "self") as the sound-bearing part.

Usage tips

  • In a sentence inviting people to eat, play, or go somewhere together, this word makes the invitation sound natural and informal.

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word