zung3 jan4眾人众人
Jyutpingzung3 jan4
Yalejung yàhn
Definition
Everybody; everyone; all the people present.
colloquialpeople
How it's used
While 眾人 carries a slightly formal or literary weight in written Chinese, it is often used in spoken Cantonese to describe a collective group of people in a narrative or descriptive sense. It feels more deliberate than simply saying 大家, which is the standard way to address or refer to everyone in a group. Use it when you want to emphasize the unity or the shared action of a crowd rather than just addressing individuals.
Examples
Everyone was very happy when they saw him.
Related words
Common phrases
known to everyone
the focus of everyone's attention
Common mistake
Learners often confuse 眾人 with 大家. While both mean everyone, 大家 is used for direct address or inclusive reference to a group you are part of, whereas 眾人 is almost always used in the third person to describe a group of people from an observational perspective.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
