者【zhě】

者 goes after a verb, an adjective or a whole verb phrase and turns it into the person – or occasionally the thing – it describes. It does the job of 的人 in writing, and it attaches directly, with no 的.

In rules and notices

Rules use 者 to name who a provision covers: 迟到者, 未经许可者, 获奖者. The phrase before 者 can be long, which is where it saves most space over 的人.

In words you already know

Many everyday nouns are 者 words that have set: 作者, 读者, 记者, 学者, 消费者, 志愿者, 爱好者. New ones are still formed the same way – 参与者, 成功者, 失败者.

After a number, 者 counts things already mentioned: 二者 or 两者 "the two", the first step toward 前者 and 后者.

In classical sentences

Classical Chinese marks the topic of a definition with 者 and closes it with 也: "X 者，Y 也" means "X is Y". It survives in quotations.

No 的 before 者

者 replaces 的人 rather than adding to it, and it doesn't attach to an ordinary noun.

• × 违反规定的者 → 违反规定者 / 违反规定的人
• × 学生者都要参加。 → 学生都要参加。