大家 人家 老百姓 等等 Everyone, all, who?

Lantian
November 07, 2007, 09:09 AM posted in General Discussion

I was wondering if others out there might give some input on the various ways to say "everyone" in Chinese. I think the first that everyone learns is "da jia" 大家, but it's not the only way. Anyone care to take a stab at the nuances, and help figure out when to use which? I lately have settled on "ren jia", not sure why...

大家

人家

同志们

老百姓

一般的人

所有的人

 

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franch
November 07, 2007, 11:54 AM

篮天,好久不见!请向你老极太阳问好。我想, “人家”应该是"people" 一般来说。没有“所有的人”,“大家”的意思。例如:“不要挤人家了,好不好?” (don't push people like that, will you?) “请安静,好让人家休息”(please be silent so that people may have a rest) I can't remember any item worth your hon. interest though. Just wanted to say hi :) I'm in Xian now, so it's nice once to say hi to the blue sky!

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ivyzhang
November 17, 2007, 11:19 AM

If u use 大家喜欢吃巧克力, that's mean most of people like chocolate, but if u use 所有的人 or 每个人, that is to say, everyone likes chocolate. :)

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goulnik
November 07, 2007, 12:07 PM

pinyin for 诸位 : zhūwèi also 各都 gèdōu each and every one; all

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franch
November 07, 2007, 12:41 PM

还有“一体”,不太常用。

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goulnik
November 07, 2007, 01:24 PM

以及“个个” (gègè) each and every one; all

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goulnik
November 07, 2007, 12:04 PM

here's more, I think not all of them are 称呼 (chēnghu) forms of address 诸位 Ladies and Gentlemen 各位 gèwèi everybody : e.g. 各位听众 列位 lièwèi everyone; all those present 各人 gèrén each one; everyone 人人 rénrén everyone 众人 zhòngrén everybody

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Lantian
November 07, 2007, 05:17 PM

Haha...you all added MORE to the list. ;p

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irek
November 07, 2007, 09:35 PM

I miss here the obvious one: 每个人 Another possibility is: 大伙儿 da4 huor3 I can also think of 凡是 人... 都 fan2shi4ren2....dou1 although I'm not sure if this can actually be used.

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wildyaks
November 08, 2007, 12:45 AM

kyle seems to be absent. I am sure he would have an explanation to offer. 老百姓is definitely different in meaning, not used for "everyone" but a term to refer to the "common people" as opposed to the leaders, cadres, etc.

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pulosm
November 08, 2007, 01:49 AM

A stab: 大家: Everyone (but only when you have a specific group in mind or are addressing a group, not everyone in the generic sense as in, "everyone loves Beijing." It's more like "you guys" or "y'all" in English. 人家 -other people. This does not mean everyone. This means other people. This means "other people" in a generic sense. You would say. 别嫌疑人家, 别动人家的东西 , etc. 同志们-Comrades! or Gays! Not really everyone, more of an address used in earlier, more communist days, or now to discuss gay people. 老百姓-common people. could mean everyone in the sense of "we should provide health care to everyone", because there, everyone means something like "even the common people." 一般的人-average people/the typical person. 所有的人-everyone. this of all the options seems to capture the meaning of everyone. It means the collective of all people. In some ways, this might overlap with 大家. For example, you could say 所有的人都喜欢他or you could say 大家都喜欢他。 If there's a difference, I'd say the former means "everyone (in a generic sense; no specific group in mind) likes him", whereas the latter means "everyone (in a group we've been discussing or in a group that's at least somewhat cognizable). 大家 is kinda like "we all", maybe even. But this difference isn't that strong and there is overlap, in my mind. Another one would be: 每个人. This means everyone or each person, literally. I'd use this for expressions like "everyone likes chocolate!" (每个人喜欢吃巧克力), but you could use 大家 and 所有的人, too.

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franch
November 07, 2007, 01:38 PM

”一体”must not be used on its own though, like 皆(jie1): 人人皆知. Anyway this is 书面语, or 熟炼语.