朕 (zhèn) - I, me (imperial we) — originally meant 'I'

朕Tone 4

zhèn ｜ 10 strokes ｜ radical:

丈志

朕 · zhèn

I, me (imperial we) — originally meant 'I' or 'me' in Classical Chinese, but from the Qin dynasty onward became exclusively used by the emperor as the imperial self-reference.

I, me (imperial we) — originally meant 'I'

Usage highlights

Imperial WeRoyal decreeImperial orderOur subjectOur territoryImperial edict

Synonyms

  • 我— I, me (common modern pronoun)
  • 吾— I, me (classical literary pronoun)

Antonyms

  • 臣— subject/minister (addressing the emperor)
  • 尔— you (inferior address in classical context)

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The emperor declared, 'I shall govern with benevolence' (朕将仁政).
  • In historical dramas, the emperor refers to himself as 'We' (朕).
  • The First Emperor of Qin standardized the imperial use of 'zhen' (秦始皇 standardized 朕).
  • This is my royal decree (此乃朕之旨意).

Collocations

  • Imperial We(朕)
  • Royal decree(朕旨)
  • Imperial order(朕命)
  • Our subject(朕臣)
  • Our territory(朕土)
  • Imperial edict(朕诏)

Idioms

  • The emperor's self-reference(朕即国家)
  • The Son of Heaven's pronouncement(天子曰朕)
  • Imperial authority(朕之权威)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Originally a common first-person pronoun in Classical Chinese, used by anyone.
  • Qin Shi Huang reserved 'zhen' exclusively for the emperor starting in 221 BCE.
  • Remained the standard imperial self-reference throughout imperial China until 1912.
  • Modern usage is almost exclusively historical or humorous reference to imperial speech.

FAQ