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Second person singular pronoun, used to refer to the person being addressed.
你是谁？
Who are you?
你想吃什么？
What do you want to eat?
Used in both formal and informal contexts. The plural form '你们' (nǐmen) is used for multiple people.
The tone of '你' is the third tone (nǐ), which starts high and then dips slightly before rising again. It sounds like the English word 'knee' but with a rising pitch at the end.
Always use '你' when addressing someone informally. Use '您' (nín) for formal or respectful contexts.
The character '你' is a phonetic loan character from Old Chinese. It evolved from the combination of the character '尔' (ěr, meaning 'you') and the phonetic component '亻' (rén, meaning 'person'), indicating a second-person pronoun.
In modern Mandarin, '你' is the standard second-person singular pronoun. The polite form '您' (nín) is used for elders or superiors. The plural form '你们' (nǐmen) is used when addressing multiple people.