彼, 兹 and 这么着 for “That”, “Hereby” and “Like This”

Structure

彼 (in set phrases) ／兹 + 定于/证明/有 … ／这么着（吧）

彼 is the literary partner of 此 and lives in fixed phrases, 兹 opens formal notices and certificates, and 这么着 is spoken “like this”.

兹定于十月十五日下午三点召开家长会，请各位家长准时参加。

When to use 彼, 兹 and 这么着 for “That”, “Hereby” and “Like This”

These three words all point at something, but they belong to very different styles. 彼 is classical Chinese for “that, the other side”, the opposite of 此 “this”. Today it is almost only used inside fixed phrases: 彼此 “each other”, 此起彼伏 “rising one after another”, 知己知彼 “know yourself and the other side”, 彼时 “at that time”. 兹 means “now, hereby” and opens official notices and certificates: 兹定于… “it is hereby arranged that …”, 兹证明… “this is to certify that …”. 这么着 is the opposite in style: a relaxed spoken word meaning “like this, this way”. It stands in for an action or a plan: 这么着吧 “tell you what”, 就这么着 “that’s settled”, 老这么着可不行 “it won’t do to keep on like this”.

比赛开始后，两边的加油声此起彼伏。

Once the match started, cheers rose from both sides, one after another.

我们是多年的老同学了，不分彼此。

We’ve been classmates for years; we don’t treat what’s yours and mine as different.

兹证明李华同学为我校高二学生。

This is to certify that Li Hua is a second-year senior high student at our school.

兹有我校学生五名前往贵馆参观学习，请予接待。

Five students of our school are coming to visit and study at your museum; please kindly receive them.

Pièges courants

彼 is not an everyday word for “that”: say 那个人, not 彼人; use 彼 inside phrases like 彼此, 此起彼伏 and 知己知彼.
兹 only opens formal notices, letters and certificates; for “now” in conversation, use 现在.
这么着 is spoken; don’t use it in an essay, and don’t confuse it with 怎么着 “what shall we do?”.

Exercice ciblé

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知己知，才能在比赛中取得好成绩

Only if you know yourself and your opponent can you do well in the competition

bǐ

Sens

that; the other (literary, opposite of 此)

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When to use 彼, 兹 and 这么着 for “That”, “Hereby” and “Like This”

Pièges courants

Exercice ciblé

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