们 (men) is a Chinese character meaning “plural suffix attached to pronouns and nouns referring to”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 门 (door; gate), side by side, and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “plural marker for people”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
亻 + 门
Left–right structure
Structure from: Unicode U+4EEC 与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形核验（左「亻」2 笔 + 右「门」3 笔 = 5 笔）
Memory aid
A person (亻) at the door (门). One person walks in, then another, then another — the door keeps letting people in until it is no longer one, but a group: 们.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 他们tā menthey; them们 = menHSK 1
- 你们nǐ menyou (plural)们 = menHSK 1
- 她们tā menthey; them (all female)们 = menHSK 1
- 它们tā menthey; them (animals or things)们 = menHSK 1
- 我们wǒ menwe; us们 = men
- 俺们ǎn menwe; us (dialectal)们 = men
- 咱们zán menwe; us (including the listener)们 = men
Go deeper
All readings
plural marker for people
plural suffix attached to pronouns and nouns referring to people (我们 we, 他们 they, 朋友们 friends)
用在代词或指人的名词后面，表示复数。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 他们tā menthey; them们 = menHSK 1
- 你们nǐ menyou (plural)们 = menHSK 1
- 她们tā menthey; them (all female)们 = menHSK 1
- 它们tā menthey; them (animals or things)们 = menHSK 1
- 我们wǒ menwe; us们 = men
- 俺们ǎn menwe; us (dialectal)们 = men
- 咱们zán menwe; us (including the listener)们 = men
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 们 mean?
们 (men) means plural suffix attached to pronouns and nouns referring to people (我们 we, 他们 they, 朋友们 friends).
How do you pronounce 们?
It is pronounced men.
What parts is 们 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 门 (door; gate), side by side. The recorded source is: Unicode U+4EEC 与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形核验（左「亻」2 笔 + 右「门」3 笔 = 5 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 们 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 们?
人. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 们?
Common ones are 他们. The reading of 们 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.