How to use 者 as “… one who is …”?

Question

I have read that 者 can be used as "... one who ...", for example

I met a X, one who is a Y.

Is that right? If yes, what would be the translation of "I met a X, one who is a Y"?

Answer 1

者

英文翻譯: that which; he who; those who

《禮記·檀弓上》
遂命子貢為之主，曰：「為爾哭也來者，拜之。」

Accordingly he ordered Zi-gong to act as presiding mourner on the occasion, saying to him, 'Bow to those who come because you have a wailing in your house.'

之 in 拜之 is a pronoun which represents 來者.

I think it is usually used in the classical Chinese (文言文).

Answer 2

者:

the person/people who; he who; those who; that which

者 is the literary counterpart of the colloquial "的人" or "的" (pronoun)

The usage of "者" compare to English "he who" , "those who"

• English: [pronoun] + [who (used to introduce a clause giving further information about a person or people previously mentioned.)] + [descriptive clause]

• Chinese: [descriptive clause] + [者 pronoun] (used to indicate the clause before it is a description of the pronoun '者')

Example:

• English: [those] + [who] + [borrowed money from Mr.K (descriptive clause)]

• Literary Chinese: [向 Mr.K借钱 (descriptive clause)] + [者]

• Colloquial Chinese: [向 Mr.K借钱 (descriptive clause)] + [的人]

者 is also a common component that turn nouns or verbs into compound word nouns

Examples:

作 = create; 作者 = author

記 = to record; 記者 = reporter

死 = dead; 死者 = the deceased

學 = to learn; 學者 = scholar

弱 = weak; 弱者 = weakling

侍 = to serve; 侍者 = waiter

讀 = read; 讀者 = reader

Answer 3

That is classical Chinese.

Some examples:

师者, 传道授业解惑也---韩愈. This is a famous quote, frequently used when people talk about teachers and students.

Translation:

A teacher, [is a person] who passes down the Dao, imparts professional knowledge and resolves doubt.

I found that translation in this doc:

Similar usage:

窃谓夫为将者：能去能就，能柔能刚；能进能退，能弱能强。 -- 诸葛亮

为将者不通天文、不懂地理、不晓阴阳、不知奇门遁甲及阵图兵势，乃庸才也 -- 诸葛亮

凡为将者，知过于人，则能制人。--锺繇

Sometimes people want to use it intentionally to make the sentence sounds special.

楼主者, 发贴首也.

OP is the person who post the first message in a threads.

为球员者, 当以团队第一.

The one who as football player should treat the team first.