爾 (ěr) - You & that

爾Tone 3

ěr ｜ 14 strokes ｜ radical:

恩丰

爾 · ěr

You;

that;

those;

classical second-person pronoun;

also used as a demonstrative or emphatic particle.

Youthatthose

Usage highlights

Classical Chinese secondElegant and refinedOccasionallyThus; in this mannerYouThat; those

Synonyms

  • 汝— You (classical second-person pronoun)
  • 你— You (modern second-person pronoun)
  • 彼— That; those (demonstrative)

Antonyms

  • 我— I; me (first-person pronoun)
  • 此— This (demonstrative)

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • You are my friend (爾是我的朋友).
  • That is the case (爾乃如此).
  • The Book of Rites (禮記) uses classical forms (爾雅).
  • The state of Jin attacked the state of Qi (晉伐齊, 齊師敗績, 齊侯使國佐如師, 晉人曰: '必以蕭同叔子為質, 而使齊之封內盡東其畝.' 對曰: '蕭同叔子非他, 寡君之母也. 若以匹敵, 則亦晉君之母也. 吾子布大命於諸侯, 而曰必質其母以為信, 其若王命何? 且是以不孝令也. 《詩》曰: '孝子不匱, 永錫爾類.' 若以不孝令於諸侯, 其無乃非德類也乎?'
  • The Classic of Etiquette and Ceremonial (儀禮) records ancient rituals(士冠禮: '壽考惟祺, 介爾景福.')

Collocations

  • Classical Chinese second-person pronoun(爾)
  • Elegant and refined(爾雅)
  • Occasionally(偶爾)
  • Thus; in this manner(爾乃)
  • You (singular, informal, archaic)(汝爾)
  • That; those(爾時)

Idioms

  • Unexpectedly; who would have thought(出爾反爾)
  • Elegant and refined(溫文爾雅)
  • You reap what you sow(出爾反爾)
  • Just so-so; not particularly good(不過爾爾)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Originally a classical second-person pronoun, common in pre-Qin texts like the 'Classic of Poetry' and 'Mencius'.
  • The character's complex form (originally pictographic) reflects its archaic usage.
  • In modern usage, it appears mainly in classical quotations, idioms, and some fixed compounds.
  • The character is the simplified form of 尔, which is used in Mainland China, while 爾 is the traditional form.

FAQ