者 (the one who / -er)

Structure Verb / adjective / clause + 者 = "the one who (does something)"

者 (zhě) is an agent nominalizer inherited from Classical Chinese: it turns a verb, adjective or whole clause into "the one who / he who": 胜者为王 = "the winner is king", 强者愈强 = "the strong grow stronger". It is highly productive in journalism and essays, where it replaces the colloquial "… 的人". It often pairs with 凡 in 凡…者 = "anyone who…": 凡报名者 = "anyone who signs up". It belongs to the written, cultivated register; everyday speech prefers 的人.

Examples

胜shèng者zhě为wéi王wáng，败bài者zhě为wéi寇kòu。
The winner becomes king; the loser, an outlaw.
在zài竞jìng争zhēng中zhōng，强qiáng者zhě愈yù强qiáng。
In competition, the strong grow ever stronger.
凡fán报bào名míng者zhě，皆jiē可kě参cān加jiā考kǎo试shì。
Anyone who registers may sit the exam.
读dú此cǐ书shū者zhě，自zì会huì明míng白bái其qí中zhōng道dào理lǐ。
Whoever reads this book will grasp its underlying logic on their own.

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