I have been looking for the Chinese character that translates the English pronoun “you.” Despite several fonts on my computer’s Character Map with the ideographs, I cannot find the correct one, which I want so I can edit a sentence which uses the character and then, in English, says: THIS MEANS YOU. (Explanation will follow.)
this character supposedly means ‘you’ in traditional Chinese 你
The personal pronouns are about the strangest words of all, having all different rules in just about every language. English, for example, has them in singular and plural forms (mostly), with a different set of words for subjects and objects, but does not distinguish between direct objects, indirect objects, and objects of prepositions. And modern English uses the word “you” for both cases, as well as singular and plural. Spanish has separate pronouns for subject, direct object, and indirect objects. French famously has, in addition, the formal and familiar forms. (I guess Spanish does too, tu vs. Usted).
So for any other language, like Chinese, you’d have to know enough of the grammar to know all the varieties of the pronouns and when to use each, and you’d have to know the exact context you were trying to use.
No, for the OP’s purposes, as I understand it, dolphinboy gave the right answer. No need to overthink it.
OK, Senegoid, here’s the story.
When I was in junior high I saw an article in MAD which, to make a long story short, depicted a Chinese holding a sign with a Chinese character, and, below that, in English, the phrase, THIS MEANS YOU!
Some years later I helped my Mom remember to take a can of coffee to work. Every now and then it was her responsibility to refill the coffee container in the employee lounge where she worked (they took turns). She forgot the coffee a few times. I started putting up a hand-made sign that read, DON’T FORGET YOUR COFFEE!! Following that notice I added a Chinese character, and wrote below it, in English, THIS MEANS YOU! Following that was an angry smiley face.
Having found occasion for the same usage I’m looking for the character, in my Character Map, while editing a fortune cookie, which read–so help me:
“Behind an able man. There are always.”