The Use of Nǐ ‘You’ for Third-Person Reference in Mandarin Conversation

Bibliographic Data

ID21236229
AuthorsXiaoran Chen (Fudan University), Shuangshuang Chen (0000-0003-2726-3305, Fudan University), S K Chen (Fudan University, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume11
Issue7
Pages140
Publication date2026-07-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLanguages (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2226-471X • E-ISSN: 2226-471X
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/languages11070140
OpenAlexW7166831344
LanguageEN
References cited29

In modern spoken Mandarin, the second-person pronoun nǐ ‘you’ is frequently used beyond its canonical addressee-reference function, including for third-person reference. Although previous studies have documented this phenomenon, little is known about how it is sequentially organized, what interactional work it accomplishes, and how recipients orient to it in naturally occurring conversation. Drawing on conversation analysis, this study examines the use of nǐ for third-person reference in the DIG Mandarin Conversations (DMC) Corpus, focusing on its sequential construction, recipient uptake, and interactional import. The analysis shows that this practice typically follows a recurrent sequential pattern: the referent is first introduced in initial position through an unmarked recognitional form, after which nǐ appears in subsequent position, serving as a marked resource for stance-taking. These findings demonstrate that nǐ used for third-person reference is not an incidental deictic shift, but a recurrent interactional practice for the display and management of stance in Mandarin conversation. This study contributes to broader discussions on person reference, footing, and intersubjectivity in talk-in-interaction

Conversation · Conversation analysis · Deixis · Intersubjectivity · Mandarin Chinese · Pragmatics · Pronoun · Referent · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Speech and dialogue systems · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

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