Radical 亻

7 strokes

person 亻 (13a) + thou 尔 (51b) = you 你

This is the everyday, modern word for “you” (there are also various polite ways of saying “you” which we will meet later).

你们 (28) nǐmen you (plural)

“Harry, thou art clever,” says the wise man. “Why don’t you just say “you”?” harry replies. / Teddy gets all excited and starts singing, “No need to kneel, no need to kneel.”

We use this in the following character, but then we won’t need it again until Chapter 18.

爾

bow (51a) + small 小 (50) = thou 尔

This is an old or literary word for “you” which we need for the next character.

Imagine two fastidious courtiers bowing to each other by a small gap in the fence. “after thou,” one says. “No, after thou!” and so on. / [No pronunciation needed]