人家：Usage Question

[cuppajoe]

I’m going through HIT-5’s song 《怕了你》 right now and I’m confused by the way 人家 is being used. I know that 人家is a way to refer to “oneself,” but isn’t it almost exclusively said by women (or effeminate when men say it)? Why would a boy band use it? Or am I wrong in that assumption?

Music Video Link:

Here’s the chorus of the song:

就一朵鲜花,就一个电话

就一个拥抱足以让

人家

牵挂

每一次可爱,每一次耍赖

每一次你永远先离开我都等你回来 OH。。。

真的怕了你,

思维没逻辑,

可我从没生过气,

我有一点点怕了你,

有一点委屈,没关系,

因为我的心中只会爱你。

[stoney]

I think the most common meaning is "other people". At least that makes more sense in the song lyrics.

[魑魅魍魉Lol]

i think it refers ＂me＂in the lyrics

Sometime it also can refer to "other people"

[skylee]

Depending on the context, it can mean 'me/oneself', 'other people', 'home/house/family'. And sometimes it can refer to engagement.

Take a look at word (27) here -> http://humanum.arts....ory=wholerecord

27. 人家 [ren2jia1], n., (1) a dwelling house; (2) s.o. else's home; (3) a high-class family: 清白人家 a decent family; 富貴人家 a rich and politically influential family; (4) a family engaged in a certain occupation: 務農人家 a farm family; 作工的人家 an artisan’s (workingman's) family; (5) a wife: 娶個人家 get married; (6) (*[ren2jia0]) some one, one, used to denote (a) somebody else: 人家的事你不用管 don’t meddle with somebody else's business; [ren2jia0], (b) used to denote others：人家可不能像你那麼胡說 others, another, will not talk such nonsense as you do; © or to denote the speaker himself: 你成天拿人家開玩笑 you are making fun of me all the time; (d) to denote persons of a particular class: 男人家 the menfolk, 女人家 womenfolk; 婦道人家 ditto; 女孩人家 girls; [ren2jia1], (7) the husband's family before marriage: 給她找個人家 choose a prospective husband for her; 已經有人家兒了 she is already engaged.

[Scoobyqueen]

when used to refer to oneself you are right often girlies use it. 人家漂亮吗 is a classical sentence.

If a boy band wants to appeal to this girlie type target audience why not adopt the language they speak, ie by using the same type of words you are more likely to sell more songs. Is that not just marketing?

:-)

[skylee]

cuppajoe, have you heard 明天我要嫁給你 by 周華健? His version is the original. It's a girl's song sung by a guy. Great song.

youtube -

[cuppajoe]

Thanks you everyone! I had never thought of it that way -- I like the marketing aspect, Scoobyqueen. 香港分舵舵主, thanks for the song, too -- it's always fun to find more good ones.