BeginChinese
every character tells a story
The ancient form
Today

rén · jan4

person; human

Where it comes from

A person standing in profile, bowing slightly, one arm reaching forward — perhaps in greeting, perhaps at work. Every human being in Chinese writing begins with this humble silhouette. Put two people side by side and you get 从 (to follow); a person stretching their arms wide becomes 大 (big).

A piece of culture

Ren: the highest virtue
Confucius took the character for person and doubled it into 仁 (rén) — "two people" — the virtue of humaneness: how people should treat each other. He called it the highest virtue, and 2,500 years later it is still the heart of Confucian thought: to be truly human is to be humane.

Use it in a real word

中国人
Zhōngguórén ·
Chinese person — country + person, the pattern for every nationality
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