<p>in the book 類篇　卷二十二 <a href="https://archive.org/details/06052841.cn/page/n87/mode/1up" rel="nofollow noreferrer">(page 87 of the liked pdf)</a>, there was an entry:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>伲儞你乃倚切汝也或作儞你你又乃里切文三重音一</p>
</blockquote>
<p>that, <strong>伲　儞　你</strong> ・[these three characters are pronounced as] 乃倚切・[have the meaning of] 汝 (you)</p>
<p>the book “類篇” is edited between 1039-1066, in 宋 dynasty.</p>
<p>i would say that 儞 / 你 existed in the past, just not commonly used as 汝</p>
<p>have fun :)</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/0wzVH.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/0wzVH.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-12T08:44:50.137Z
I've been aware of this but I can't really find an example for the use of 儞 other than in a dictionary :(
Stan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-12T08:47:09.117Z
@stan, search the kanripo.org, they’re occurrences that 儞 used as name :)
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-12T08:35:40.460Z
2020-07-12T08:35:40.460Z
水巷孑蠻
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.zdic.net/hant/%E5%84%9E" rel="nofollow noreferrer">儞</a></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>古同“你”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>「你 」的異體字</p>
</blockquote>
<p>儞 is an archaic classical term that had been replaced by 你 in traditional character. (&quot;long before simplified Chinese&quot; was introduced.&quot; as one of your reference stated).</p>
<p>In other words, when they started simplifying traditional characters, the character 儞 did not exist in modern Chinese. It had been simplified to 你, and the simplified 儞 --&gt; 你 had replaced 儞 and become the standard traditional character for 'you'</p>
<p>爾, on the other hand, is still being used in modern Chinese.</p>
<p>Since 尔 had already been used to simplify 爾, it was not used to simplify 你</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-12T06:31:55.257Z
2020-07-12T06:42:27.797Z
2020-07-12T06:42:27.797Z
Tang Ho
<p>I found an interesting question posted on <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Reddit's /r/ChineseLanguage</a>: <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/hpi6fr/if_%E4%BD%A0_is_%E4%BA%BB%E4%BA%BA_%E5%B0%94_but_%E5%B0%94s_tradicional_version_is_%E7%88%BE/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">If 你 is 亻（人） ＋ 尔 , but 尔’s tradicional version is 爾 , shouldn’t 你’s traditional version be 儞 ??</a>  I don't know the answer so I thought I'd re-ask it here.  Some answers given there were:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/hpi6fr/if_%E4%BD%A0_is_%E4%BA%BB%E4%BA%BA_%E5%B0%94_but_%E5%B0%94s_tradicional_version_is_%E7%88%BE/fxray4a?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web2x" rel="nofollow noreferrer">marktwainbrain</a>: According to Pleco, 儞 does exist and it is an old variant of 你.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/hpi6fr/if_%E4%BD%A0_is_%E4%BA%BB%E4%BA%BA_%E5%B0%94_but_%E5%B0%94s_tradicional_version_is_%E7%88%BE/fxramld?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web2x" rel="nofollow noreferrer">catoncurtain</a>: Well actually you are right, <a href="https://www.zdic.net/hant/%E5%84%9E" rel="nofollow noreferrer">儞</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/hpi6fr/if_%E4%BD%A0_is_%E4%BA%BB%E4%BA%BA_%E5%B0%94_but_%E5%B0%94s_tradicional_version_is_%E7%88%BE/fxs05tz?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web2x" rel="nofollow noreferrer">CosmicBioHazard</a>: basically 儞 simplified down to 你 ages and ages before &quot;simplified Chinese&quot; was introduced.</li>
</ul>
<p>I'm not sure if any of these are correct, although CosmicBioHazard's answer seems reasonable.  The Pleco entry is actually the CC-CEDICT entry:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>儞 儞 [ni3] /old variant of 你[ni3]/</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Question</strong>: Why is the traditional character for 你 also 你 and not 儞 when the traditional character for 尔 is 爾?</p>
<p><em>Edit</em>: It was <a href="https://chinese.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/1765/someone-seems-to-be-copy-pasting-question-titles-to-quora-without-attribution?noredirect=1#comment1144_1765">brought to my attention</a> that Quora has a similar question: <a href="https://www.quora.com/Why-do-all-of-the-Traditional-Chinese-standards-use-%E4%BD%A0-with-the-Simplified-%E5%B0%94-but-keep-%E7%88%BE?" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Why do all of the Traditional Chinese standards use 你 (with the Simplified 尔) but keep 爾?</a> likely posted recently (prior to this question).  I was not aware of this at the time of writing this question.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-12T06:44:47.600Z
康熙字典 had no entry for 儞 but 伱 while explained "伱...俗書作你". I doubt whether 儞 had been actually used in ancient publications or handwritten scripts or inscriptions etc. If anyone finds any source for ancient 儞 in actual use, please leave the source here. Thanks!
Stan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-12T06:54:55.633Z
What's interesting. According to 康熙字典, 伱's origin glyph was [伲](http://dict.iguci.cn/kangxi/index/view/page/96/p/96/x/53/y/292) but not 儞, and there was a seal script to justify it from [傳抄古文字 海3.4](http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/char?fontcode=83.EDB1).
Stan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-12T07:08:36.103Z
Since I haven't seen any 儞 in ancient publications yet—please correct me if anyone finds the ancient source—I have a conjecture: 儞 might be the made-up one (no earlier before Qing dynasty I guess) resembling the 妳-嬭 pair that appeared in 康熙字典 both, while 伱/你 had been already widely used in novels in Ming dynasty like 西遊記.
Stan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-12T08:07:06.890Z
@Stan 儞 is recorded to have occurred on 戰國 燕 potteryware as someone's name (kind of; it had an extra phonetic 厶 on the top right), as the name of the craftsman (高明 古陶文彙編 4.47). I don't think I can get a hold of this reference unfortunately, but what you should see is a mark which says 右宮儞 (see bjwb.bjd.com.cn/images/2020-05/28/23/23.pdf for what 右宮X means)
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-12T08:11:32.020Z
Regardless, the character 儞 was very uncommon, you can treat its appearance later as an unorthodox innovation. In order of innovation, the character representing a word meaning *you* is probably something like 爾 > 尔 > 你 > 儞. The Warring States 儞, I would treat as unrelated for now.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-12T19:34:40.360Z
eh, an interesting question, but somewhat silly, because the simplified characters are based on the traditional and not vice-versa
小奥利奥
<glyph-origin><traditional-vs-simplified>
Why is the traditional character for 你 also 你 and not 儞 when the traditional character for 尔 is 爾?
# Why is the traditional character for 你 also 你 and not 儞 when the traditional character for 尔 is 爾?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-07-12)

I found an interesting question posted on [Reddit's /r/ChineseLanguage](https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/): [If 你 is 亻（人） ＋ 尔 , but 尔’s tradicional version is 爾 , shouldn’t 你’s traditional version be 儞 ??](https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/hpi6fr/if_%E4%BD%A0_is_%E4%BA%BB%E4%BA%BA_%E5%B0%94_but_%E5%B0%94s_tradicional_version_is_%E7%88%BE/) I don't know the answer so I thought I'd re-ask it here. Some answers given there were:

* [marktwainbrain](https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/hpi6fr/if_%E4%BD%A0_is_%E4%BA%BB%E4%BA%BA_%E5%B0%94_but_%E5%B0%94s_tradicional_version_is_%E7%88%BE/fxray4a?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x): According to Pleco, 儞 does exist and it is an old variant of 你.
* [catoncurtain](https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/hpi6fr/if_%E4%BD%A0_is_%E4%BA%BB%E4%BA%BA_%E5%B0%94_but_%E5%B0%94s_tradicional_version_is_%E7%88%BE/fxramld?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x): Well actually you are right, [儞](https://www.zdic.net/hant/%E5%84%9E)
* [CosmicBioHazard](https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/hpi6fr/if_%E4%BD%A0_is_%E4%BA%BB%E4%BA%BA_%E5%B0%94_but_%E5%B0%94s_tradicional_version_is_%E7%88%BE/fxs05tz?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x): basically 儞 simplified down to 你 ages and ages before "simplified Chinese" was introduced.

I'm not sure if any of these are correct, although CosmicBioHazard's answer seems reasonable. The Pleco entry is actually the CC-CEDICT entry:

> 儞 儞 [ni3] /old variant of 你[ni3]/

**Question**: Why is the traditional character for 你 also 你 and not 儞 when the traditional character for 尔 is 爾?

*Edit*: It was [brought to my attention](https://chinese.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/1765/someone-seems-to-be-copy-pasting-question-titles-to-quora-without-attribution?noredirect=1#comment1144_1765) that Quora has a similar question: [Why do all of the Traditional Chinese standards use 你 (with the Simplified 尔) but keep 爾?](https://www.quora.com/Why-do-all-of-the-Traditional-Chinese-standards-use-%E4%BD%A0-with-the-Simplified-%E5%B0%94-but-keep-%E7%88%BE?) likely posted recently (prior to this question). I was not aware of this at the time of writing this question.

**Tags:** glyph-origin, traditional-vs-simplified

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 康熙字典 had no entry for 儞 but 伱 while explained "伱...俗書作你". I doubt whether 儞 had been actually used in ancient publications or handwritten scripts or inscriptions etc. If anyone finds any source for ancient 儞 in actual use, please leave the source here. Thanks!  
> **username_1**: What's interesting. According to 康熙字典, 伱's origin glyph was [伲](http://dict.iguci.cn/kangxi/index/view/page/96/p/96/x/53/y/292) but not 儞, and there was a seal script to justify it from [傳抄古文字 海3.4](http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/char?fontcode=83.EDB1).  
> **username_1**: Since I haven't seen any 儞 in ancient publications yet—please correct me if anyone finds the ancient source—I have a conjecture: 儞 might be the made-up one (no earlier before Qing dynasty I guess) resembling the 妳-嬭 pair that appeared in 康熙字典 both, while 伱/你 had been already widely used in novels in Ming dynasty like 西遊記.  
> **username_2**: @username_1 儞 is recorded to have occurred on 戰國 燕 potteryware as someone's name (kind of; it had an extra phonetic 厶 on the top right), as the name of the craftsman (高明 古陶文彙編 4.47). I don't think I can get a hold of this reference unfortunately, but what you should see is a mark which says 右宮儞 (see bjwb.bjd.com.cn/images/2020-05/28/23/23.pdf for what 右宮X means)  
> **username_2**: Regardless, the character 儞 was very uncommon, you can treat its appearance later as an unorthodox innovation. In order of innovation, the character representing a word meaning *you* is probably something like 爾 > 尔 > 你 > 儞. The Warring States 儞, I would treat as unrelated for now.  
> **username_3**: eh, an interesting question, but somewhat silly, because the simplified characters are based on the traditional and not vice-versa  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2020-07-12. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

in the book 類篇　卷二十二 [(page 87 of the liked pdf)](https://archive.org/details/06052841.cn/page/n87/mode/1up), there was an entry:

> 伲儞你乃倚切汝也或作儞你你又乃里切文三重音一

that, **伲　儞　你** ・[these three characters are pronounced as] 乃倚切・[have the meaning of] 汝 (you)

the book “類篇” is edited between 1039-1066, in 宋 dynasty.

i would say that 儞 / 你 existed in the past, just not commonly used as 汝

have fun :)

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/0wzVH.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/0wzVH.jpg)

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I've been aware of this but I can't really find an example for the use of 儞 other than in a dictionary :(  
> **username_4**: @username_1, search the kanripo.org, they’re occurrences that 儞 used as name :)  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2020-07-12. Score: 2

> [儞](https://www.zdic.net/hant/%E5%84%9E)

> 古同“你”

> 「你 」的異體字

儞 is an archaic classical term that had been replaced by 你 in traditional character. ("long before simplified Chinese" was introduced." as one of your reference stated).

In other words, when they started simplifying traditional characters, the character 儞 did not exist in modern Chinese. It had been simplified to 你, and the simplified 儞 --> 你 had replaced 儞 and become the standard traditional character for 'you'

爾, on the other hand, is still being used in modern Chinese.

Since 尔 had already been used to simplify 爾, it was not used to simplify 你


---

