者 zhě — that which; he who; those who · English

者

zhě

that which; he who; those who

At a glance · 者

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

「者」本义说法不一，或以为象形（像火烧物之形，后作「煮」），古人借作代词与语气助词，沿用至今。小篆承古形，隶楷作「者」。属假借用法。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

虚化为指人、指事的助词与代词。

Structure

假借字，本为实词（一说象形），借为虚词「……的人/事」。

At a glance

Pinyinzhě

Radical耂

Strokes9

UnicodeU+8005

Character type假借

Theme虚词

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English that which; he who; those who That which, he who, or those who.

Français celui qui; ce qui Celui qui, ce qui ou ceux qui.

Español aquel que; lo que Aquel que, lo que o aquellos que.

العربية الذي؛ من؛ ما الذي أو من أو ما.

Русский тот, кто; то, что Тот, кто, или те, которые.

Common words

者zhě-er
学者xué zhěscholar

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