How to use 本
本 + noun
本 can specify the institution, location, time period, or occasion relevant to the speaker or document. Depending on the noun, English may use this, our, or current. It is common in notices, organizational statements, and formal self-reference. The reference point can be the organization issuing the text or the present period, rather than always a physical side in a conversation.
Place 本 directly before the noun without a measure word. Common combinations include institutions, regions, years, months, and particular occasions. 本人 is an established formal way to refer to oneself. Do not translate the prefix as your automatically: identify whose institution or which current period the document is using as its frame of reference.
Examples with pinyin and English
本店周一休息。
This shop is closed on Mondays.
本 identifies the shop issuing the notice.
本月的会议改到周五。
This month's meeting has been moved to Friday.
本 marks the current month.
本人同意上述安排。
I agree to the arrangements stated above.
本人 is formal self-reference in a document.
What to remember
- Use 本 before a suitable institutional or time noun.
- Identify the speaker's or document's reference point.
- Recognize 本人 as formal self-reference.
Practise the pattern
Use one example as a model. Change the people, objects or situation, keeping the grammar pattern in the same order. Read the explanation again to check how your sentence uses the construction.
Look up the grammar words
Source and editorial notes
Explanation and examples written for Laowai using the grammar curriculum as a topic reference. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
Difficulty labels describe the level of the explanation; they are not official HSK placement. Send a correction with this page’s URL.