尔 (ěr) — you (literary); used in transliteration in Mandarin
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#1156 most common word
Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.
Tone breakdown
尔 is pronounced ěr. Tap any syllable’s row to hear the whole word.
In a sentence
ěrhòu wǒ zài lái
I'll come again after that.
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Start freeFrequently asked questions
What does 尔 mean?+
尔 (ěr) means "you (literary); used in transliteration" in Mandarin Chinese.
How do you pronounce 尔?+
尔 is pronounced ěr. It uses the tone 3 (rising/dipping). Tap the character on this page to hear native audio.
How common is 尔 in Mandarin?+
尔 is the #1156 most frequent word in spoken Mandarin, so it is one of the first words worth learning.
Words at a similar frequency
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What each tone sounds like and why it matters.
Why some tones change in connected speech.
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