Abstract

The Chinese language has a number of characters which, when added to end of various nouns, verbs or adjectives, can form a noun indicating a person. The following article discusses the differences between six of these characters: 师, 生, 员, 家, 者 and 人.



Contents

Introduction

Common Measure Words for People: 个, 位, 名

1) The 师 Character

2) The 生 Character

3) The 员 Character

4) The 家 Character

5) The 者 Character

6) The 人 Character

Summary

References and Further Reading

Introduction

The Chinese language has a number of characters which, when added to end of various nouns, verbs or adjectives, can form a noun indicating a person. For example, the character 人 can be placed after the noun 美国 (‘America’) to make the noun 美国人 (‘an American’) while the character 家 can be suffixed to the noun 画 (‘a painting’) to make the word 画家 (‘a painter’).

Some of these common characters indicating people are 师, 生, 员, 家, 者 and 人. This article will discuss the differences between these characters in detail and list some of the most commonly encountered derivations (i.e. words using these characters as suffixes to form new words) with reference to their HSK level.

Some English words may be translated using more than one of these characters; for example, 作家 and 作者 both mean ‘writer’. However, considered without reference to their derivations, 师, 生, 员, 家, 者 and 人 each have their own meanings. Understanding the differences between these characters may help a learner of Chinese better remember their derivations, as well as better prepare the learner for when unknown words are encountered in authentic texts.

Common Measure Words for People: 个, 位, 名

In spoken Chinese, 个 is the most common measure word for people. The measure word 位 is more polite and therefore often encountered in more formal situations.

名 is a relatively impartial measure word for nouns indicating people, mostly encountered in written Chinese. The measure word 名 usually indicates a specific, not an approximate, number of people in a given situation.

In most cases, the measure words 个, 位 and 名 may be used with any person-related noun using 师, 生, 员, 家, 者 and 人.

Noun Phrase Examples using 个, 位 and 名 Meaning 一个美国人

两个服务员

三位老师

四位作家

五名共产党员

六名志愿者 an American

two waiters

three teachers

four writers

five Communist Party members

six volunteers

1) The 师 Character

The character 师 (pronounced shī), when applied as a suffix, can indicate either (1) a teacher, tutor or master, or (2) a person skilled or specialised in a certain profession. The word has connotations of “expertise” or “mastery” of something and carries a sense of respect.

Other words containing 师 often relate to military matters.

Students of Chinese usually first encounter 师 in the HSK1 word 老师 (meaning ‘teacher’). Students may next encounter 师 in the HSK4 words 律师 (meaning ‘lawyer’) or 师傅 – a polite term of address which has no culturally-comparable expression in English and is therefore usually awkwardly translated as ‘master worker’.

The next and only instance of 师 included in the HSK lists is the HSK6 noun 师范, meaning ‘teacher training’. (A school which trains teachers is a 师范学校, for example.)

Derivations using 师

The following words use 师 as a suffix to indicate a kind of ‘teacher’ or ‘instructor’:

Derivation using 师 Pin Yin Definition(s) HSK Level 老师

教师

讲师

导师

名师

大师 lǎoshī

jiàoshī

jiǎngshī

dǎoshī

míngshī

dàshī a teacher

a teacher

a lecturer

a tutor; a teacher

a famous master; a great teacher

a great master HSK1

–

–

–

–

–

The following words use 师 as a suffix to indicate ‘a person skilled in a certain profession’ (other than teaching):



Derivation using 师 Pin Yin Definition(s) HSK Level 律师

工程师

建筑师

厨师

技师

分析师

会计师 lǜshī

gōngchéngshī

jiànzhúshī

chúshī

jìshī

fēnxīshī

kuàijìshī a lawyer

an engineer

an architect

a chef

a technician

an analyst

a treasurer; a chartered accountant HSK4

HSK5

–

–

–

–

–

2) The 生 Character



The character 生 (pronounced shēng) is usually first encountered by learners of Chinese as the suffix indicating a person in the HSK1 word 学生 (meaning ‘student’). Other HSK1 words with 生 include 医生 (‘doctor’) and 先生 (‘Mr.’).

With the exception of 先生 and 医生, as a suffix indicating a person, 生 usually relates to individuals who are engaged in some kind of study.

In the wider usage of the word, 生 has a wide variety of meanings and grammatical applications, but the term is often related to ‘life’ or ‘birth’. Beginner students of Chinese are likely to next encounter 生 used as a verb in the phrases 生病 (‘to become ill’), 生气 (‘to be angry’) and 生活 (‘to live’).

Derivations using 生

The following words use 生 as a suffix to indicate a kind of ‘student’:



Derivation using 生

Pin Yin Definition(s) HSK Level 学生

留学生

大学生

研究生

本科学生

小学生

中学生

高中学生

女生

男生 xuéshēng

liúxuéshēng

dàxuéshēng

yánjiūshēng

běnkēxuéshēng

xiǎoxuéshēng

zhōngxuéshēng

gāozhōngxuéshēng

nǚshēng

nánshēng a student

a foreign student

a university student

a postgraduate student

an undergraduate student

a primary school student

a middle school student

a high school student

a schoolgirl

a schoolboy HSK1

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

The following words use 生 as a suffix to indicate persons other than students:

Derivation using 生

Pin Yin Definition(s) HSK Level 先生

医生

实习生

考生

书生 xiānshēng

yīshēng

shíxíshēng

kǎoshēng

shūshēng Mr.

a doctor

an intern

an examination candidate

a scholar; an intellectual HSK1

HSK1

–

–

–

3) The 员 Character

The character 员 (pronounced yuán), when applied as a suffix, can indicate either (1) a person engaged in a certain job or field of work or (2) a person who is a member of a certain team or organisation.

Beginner students will probably first encounter the character 员 in the HSK2 word 服务员 (meaning ‘waiter’ or ‘waitress’.) The character is next seen in the HSK4 words 演员 (‘actor’, ‘actress’ or ‘performer’) and 售货员 (‘shop assistant’).

Note that some words with 员 – for example, 人员, 工作人员 and 员工 – can mean ‘(work) staff’ or ‘personnel’ in general. The verb-object phrase 裁员 means ‘to cut staff’ or ‘to reduce staff’.

In the wider usage of the character, 员 may relate to military organisation and action. The verb-object phrase 动员 means ‘mobilize (troops)’, for example.

Derivations using 员

The following words use 员 as a suffix to indicate a ‘person engaged in a certain job or field of work’:

Derivation using 员

Pin Yin Definition(s) HSK Level 服务员

演员

售货员

售票员

飞行员

航天员

保安员

船员

海员

店员

教员

话务员

译员

专员

业务员

乘务员 fúwùyuán

yǎnyuán

shòuhuòyuán

shòupiàoyuán

fēixíngyuán

hángtiānyuán

bǎo’ānyuán

chuányuán

hǎiyuán

diànyuán

jiàoyuán

huàwùyuán

yìyuán

zhuānyuán

yèwù yuán

chéngwùyuán a waiter; a waitress

a performer; an actor; an actress

a shop assistant; a sales clerk

a ticket collector; a booking office clerk

a pilot; an aviator

an astronaut

a security guard

a crew member; a sailor

a sailor; a seaman

a shop assistant; a shop clerk

a teacher

a telephone operator

an interpreter

an assistant director; a commissioner

a salesperson

an attendant (on a train, boat etc.) HSK2

HSK4

HSK4

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

The following words use 员 as a suffix to indicate a kind of ‘team member’ or ‘member of an organisation’:

Derivation using 员

Pin Yin Definition(s) HSK Level 人员

成员

团员

委员

党员

共产党员

雇员

官员

会员

工会会员

学员

球员

议员

社员

要员 rényuán

chéngyuán

tuányuán

wěiyuán

dǎngyuán

gòngchǎndǎngyuán

gùyuán

guānyuán

huìyuán

gōnghuìhuìyuán

xuéyuán

qiúyuán

yìyuán

shèyuán

yàoyuán a member; a staff member

a member (of a group or family)

a member (of a group, delegation, etc.)

a committee member

a member of a political party

a Communist Party member

an employee

a government official; a government worker

a member (of an organisation)

a trade union member

a student (of a college, training course, etc.)

a member of a ball team

a member of a legislative assembly

a member (of a club, society, etc.)

a key participant; an important official HSK5

HSK6

–

HSK6

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

4) The 家 Character

The character 家 (pronounced jiā) has a wide range of meanings, but learners of Chinese will probably first encounter this word in the context of ‘family’ or ‘home’.

The character 家, when used as a suffix, can indicate a person’s occupation or profession. The noun 专家 (meaning ‘expert’) suggests that occupational roles using the suffix 家 require specialised skills or knowledge. In addition, other words with 家 as a suffix imply a person whom should be respected: The word 名家 indicates ‘a person of academic or artistic distinction’ whilst 行家 can be translated as ‘expert’ or ‘connoisseur’.

The word 学家, meaning scholar, can also act as a suffix to certain other nouns to indicate a person who is involved in scholarly research or work; for example, 经济学家 (‘an economist’) and 历史学家 (‘a historian’).

Derivations using 家

The following words use 家 as a suffix to indicate a person with a specialised occupation:

Derivation using 家

Pin Yin Definition(s) HSK Level 作家

专家

艺术家

画家

书法家

文学家

科学家

化学家 zuòjiā

zhuānjiā

yìshùjiā

huàjiā

shūfǎjiā

wénxuéjiā

kēxuéjiā

huàxuéjiā a writer; an author

an expert

an artist

an artist

a calligrapher

a writer; a man of letters

a scientist

a chemist HSK4

HSK5

–

–

–

–

–

–

The following words use 学家 as a suffix to indicate a person involved in scholarly research or work:

Derivation using 家

Pin Yin Definition(s) HSK Level 学家

名家

行家

地理学家

经济学家

考古学家

历史学家

社会学家

数学家

语言学家

哲学家 xuéjiā

míngjiā

hángjiā

dìlǐ xué jiā

jīngjìxuéjiā

kǎogǔxuéjiā

lìshǐxuéjiā

shèhuìxuéjiā

shùxuéjiā

yǔyánxuéjiā

zhéxuéjiā a scholar

a person of academic or artistic distinction

an expert; a connoisseur; an “old hand”

a geographer

an economist

an archaeologist

an historian

a sociologist

a mathematician

a linguist

a philosopher –

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

5) The 者 Character

The character 者 (pronounced zhě), when used as a suffix, can indicate (1) a person engaged in a type of work, (2) a person who adheres to a certain belief or ideology or (3) a person who is inclined to a certain activity or action or (4) a person (or organism or thing) which can be categorised in a group with certain characteristics.

Beginner students will probably first encounter the character 者 in the HSK3 conjunction 或者 (meaning ‘or’). 记者 and 作者, meaning ‘reporter’ and ‘writer’ respectively, are listed in HSK4.

There are an especially large number of person words with the suffix 者. This is mainly because of the pattern 主义者, which refers to someone who adheres to a certain belief or ideology, can be suffixed to a large number of nouns. For example, 完美 (‘perfect’) can be suffixed with 主义 (‘ideology’) and 者 to make the word 完美主义者 (‘a perfectionist’).

Derivations using 者

The following words use 者 as a suffix to indicate a ‘person engaged in a type of work’:

Derivation using 者

Pin Yin Definition(s) HSK Level 记者

作者

使者

音乐工作者 jìzhě

zuòzhě

shǐzhě

yīnyuègōngzuòzhě a reporter; a journalist

a writer; an author

an emissary; an envoy; a messenger

a musician HSK4

HSK4

–

–

The following words use 者 as a suffix to indicate ‘a person who adheres to a certain belief or ideology’:

Derivation using 者

Pin Yin Definition(s) HSK Level 素食主义者

马克思主义者

社会主义者

完美主义者

理想主义者

现实主义者

个人主义者

和平主义者 sùshízhǔyìzhě

mǎkèsīzhǔyìzhě

shèhuìzhǔyìzhě

wánměizhǔyìzhě

lǐxiǎngzhǔyìzhě

xiànshízhǔyìzhě

gèrénzhǔyìzhě

hépíngzhǔyìzhě a vegetarian

a Marxist

a socialist

a perfectionist

an idealist

a realist

an individualist

a pacifist –

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

The following words use 者 as a suffix to indicate ‘a person who is inclined to a certain activity or action’:

Derivation using 者

Pin Yin Definition(s) HSK Level 志愿者

患者

爱好者

消费者

生产者

读者

学者 zhìyuànzhě

huànzhě

àihàozhě

xiāofèizhě

shēngchǎnzhě

dúzhě

xuézhě a volunteer

a patient (at a hospital, etc.)

a hobbiest; an enthusiast

a consumer

a producer (of goods, etc.)

a reader (of a magazine, etc.)

a scholar; a learned person HSK5

HSK6

–

–

–

–

–

The following words use 者 as a suffix to indicate a ‘person which can be categorised in a group with certain characteristics’:

Derivation using 者

Pin Yin Definition(s) HSK Level 老者

强者

弱者 lǎozhě

qiángzhě

ruòzhě an old person

a strong person; a powerhouse

a weak person; a weakling –

–

–

6) The 人 Character

The character 人 (pronounced rén) usually relates to ‘people’. It can be used as a standalone noun meaning ‘a person’.

Words with 人 applied as a suffix describe a type of person. Often the character 人 is added to an adjective (e.g. 老人 an old person, 男人 a male person, 穷人 a poor person).

As a general rule, 人 may also be added after the name of a country or region to indicate a person from that place. Thus 美国人 means ‘an American’ and 西班牙人 means ‘a Spanish person’. Similarly, 中国人 means ‘a Chinese person’ while 外国人 means ‘a foreigner’ (i.e. someone from outside of China.)

Derivations using 人

The following words use 人 as a suffix to indicate a person’s nationality or place of origin:

Derivation using 人

Pin Yin Definition(s) HSK Level 中国人

外国人

英国人

美国人

西班牙人

越南人

日本人

香港人

北京人 zhōngguórén

wàiguórén

yīngguórén

měiguórén

xībānyárén

yuènánrén

rìběnrén

xiānggǎngrén

běijīngrén a Chinese person

a foreigner (i.e. a non-Chinese person)

an English person

an American

a Spanish person

a Vietnamese person

a Japanese person

a person from Hong Kong

a person from Beijing –

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

The following words use 人 as a suffix to indicate a person’s relationship within a family structure:

Derivation using 人

Pin Yin Definition(s) HSK Level 亲人

家人

夫人

丈人

先人

爱人

情人

下人 qīnrén

jiārén

fūrén

zhàngrén

xiānrén

àirén

qíngrén

xiàrén a member of one’s family; a close relative

a member of one’s family

a lady; a wife (polite)

a wife’s father; a father-in-law

an ancestor

a husband or wife; a lover

a lover

a domestic servant (old fashioned term) –

–

HSK6

–

–

–

–

–

The following words use 人 as a suffix to indicate a type of person more generally:

Derivation using 人

Pin Yin Definition(s) HSK Level 工人

男人

女人

老人

年轻人

成人

大人

客人

主人

好人

坏人

穷人

富人

病人

行人

旁人

过路人

黑人

白人

陌生人

敌人

当事人

诗人

读书人

军人

创始人

代理人

投保人

主持人

收款人 gōngrén

nánrén

nǚrén

lǎorén

niánqīngrén

chéngrén

dàrén

kèrén

zhǔrén

hǎorén

huàirén

qióngrén

fùrén

bìngrén

xíngrén

pángrén

guòlù rén

hēirén

báirén

mòshēngrén

dírén

dāngshìrén

shīrén

dúshūrén

jūnrén

chuàngshǐrén

dàilǐrén

tóubǎorén

zhǔchírén

shōukuǎnrén a worker

a man

a woman

an old person

a young person

an adult

an adult

a guest; a customer; a visitor

a host

a good person

a bad person

a poor person

a rich person

a sick person

a pedestrian

a bystander

a passer-by

a black person

a white person

a stranger

an enemy

a person involved in a certain affair

a poet

a reader

a soldier; a serviceman

a founder; an originator

an agent; a proxy

an insured person; an insurance policy holder

a host (of a television show, etc.)

a payee; a person who receives payment HSK5

－

－

－

－

HSK5

–

HSK5

–

–

–

–

–

–

HSK5

–

–

–

–

–

HSK5

HSK6

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Summary

Despite exceptions, words associated with 师, 生, 员, 家, 者 and 人 may be classified into groups usually relating to the original or standalone meaning of each character. Therefore, when considering words using these characters as suffixes indicating people, it may be useful for learners of Chinese to remember that (exceptions notwithstanding):

1) 师 usually refers to teachers or “masters”.

2) 生 usually refers to students.

3) 员 usually refers to occupations or members of teams or organisations.

4) 家 usually refers to persons with specialist or scholarly occupations.

5) 者 and 人 have a wide range of uses.

Learners should also be careful, however, not to associate all instances of 师, 生, 员, 家, 者 and 人 at the end of words or phrases with people-related terms. For example, 出师 means ‘to complete one’s apprenticeship’ or ‘dispatch troops to battle’, 发生 means ‘to happen’, 裁员 means ‘to cut staff’, 国家 means ‘country’, 或者 means ‘or’ and 丢人 means ‘to lose face’.

Nonetheless, by paying attention to the original or standalone meanings of 师, 生, 员, 家, 者 and 人, students of Chinese may more efficiently learn and understand nouns indicating people.

References and Further Reading

1. New Practical Chinese Reader (2013) Books 1-6.

2. 常用汉字组词搭配词典 (2011), p.352 (师), p.350 (生), p.473 (员), p.491 (者), p.331-332 (人). 3. 卓越汉语：公司实战篇 (2012).

4. Business Chinese: An Advanced Reader 商货汉语高级读本 (2004).

5. Chinese Measure Words Without Tears 汉语量词学习手册 (2010), p.129 (位), p.103 (名).

6. 现代汉语规范词典: 第3版 (2014), p.1183 (师), p.1172 (生), p.1619 (员), p.1669 (者), p.1102 (人).