zhèn

朕

Character · Pronoun · Noun

I; imperial we; omen

Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma

Meanings

2 senses · 4 examples
1.

pronoun

I; my (pre-Qin usage); imperial we (exclusive to emperor post-Qin)

archaic

Before the Qin dynasty (pre-221 BCE), this was a common first-person pronoun used by anyone. After Qin Shi Huang unified China, he mandated it as the exclusive self-reference for the emperor, a tradition that continued until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912.

Zhèn朕
tǒng统
liù六
guó国
 ，
tiān天
xià下
guī归
yī一
 。

I have unified the six states and brought the whole world under one rule.

Xiān先
Qín秦
shí时
qī期
 ，
bǎi百
xìng姓
yì亦
kě可
yòng用
zhèn朕
zì自
chēng称
 。

During the pre-Qin period, commoners could also use 'zhen' to refer to themselves.

2.

noun

omen; sign; portent

literary

Literary usage, typically appearing in the compound 朕兆 (zhènzhào). This sense is archaic and rarely used in modern Chinese except in fixed expressions or historical texts.

Dì地
zhèn震
zhī之
qián前
cháng常
yǒu有
zhèn朕
zhào兆
 。

There are often omens before an earthquake occurs.

Guān观
qí其
zhèn朕
zhào兆
 ，
zhī知
qí其
jiāng将
biàn变
 。

By observing the signs, one knows that change is imminent.