What does 们 mean in Chinese?

们 (men) means "plural marker for pronouns" in Chinese. The new HSK exam expects you to recognise it at HSK 1.

How do you write 们?

们 is written with 5 strokes, starting from the 亻 (person) radical and following standard Chinese stroke order (top to bottom, left to right). See the interactive stroke-order tool for the full animation.

What is the radical of 们?

The radical of 们 is 亻 (person, Kangxi radical #9). Other common HSK characters using the same radical include 作, 保, 体, 信.

How many strokes does 们 have?

The Chinese character 们 has 5 strokes.

What HSK level is 们?

On the new HSK exam syllabus, 们 is a character to recognise at HSK 1 and to write by hand at HSK 2 (the handwriting list HSK 1 and 2 share).

们 (men): Meaning, Stroke Order, Radical & Examples

们

men

plural marker for pronouns

HSK 1 character 5 strokes Radical: 亻 (person)

Quick Answer

们 (men) means "plural marker for pronouns" with 5 strokes, radical 亻 (person), HSK 1 on the new exam.

Full dictionary entry for 们 →Animated stroke-order for 们 →

Pronunciation

men

Meaning

Primary: plural marker for pronouns

Etymology

Oracle-bone origin

们 has no ancient form. It is a late phono-semantic compound formed by the 亻 (person) radical and 门 (mén) as the phonetic, invented specifically as a plural suffix for pronouns and human nouns. The traditional form 們 appears in vernacular writing from the Song dynasty onward and is not attested in classical texts.

Form evolution

The character entered written Chinese through Song and Yuan colloquial literature, where it was sometimes written 懣, 門, or 瞞 before 們 stabilised. The 1956 simplification replaced the phonetic 門 with its simplified form 门, giving 们. Because the character is so young, there is no seal-script or clerical ancestry to trace.

How the meaning evolved

们 has only ever functioned as a plural marker attached to a small set of nouns and pronouns referring to people: 我们 (we), 你们 (you pl.), 他们 (they), 孩子们 (children), 同学们 (classmates). It is not a true plural in the European sense; most Chinese nouns remain unmarked for number, and 们 cannot be added to inanimate nouns or after a numeral.

Cultural note

A common learner error is writing 三个朋友们, which is ungrammatical because 们 clashes with the explicit number. Drop either 三个 or 们, not both. The suffix can also carry a collective, almost familiar warmth in address, as in a teacher calling out 同学们.

Mnemonic

People at the gate — the plural crowd

Decomposition

们=亻radical+门component

Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.

Basic info

Pinyin	men
Meanings	plural marker for pronouns
Stroke count	5 strokes
Radical	亻 (#9: person)
New HSK exam	Recognise at HSK 1, write by hand at HSK 1-2
Frequency	#765 most common