咱们

zán men

we or us (including both the speaker and the person(s) spoken to)

(dialect) I or me; (dialect) (in a coaxing or familiar way) you; also pr. [za2 men5]

zán

variant of 咱[zan2]

men

plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals

self-mouth (咱) + people-plural (们) = inclusive we

咱 pairs mouth (口) with 自, which carries a sense of self; 们 adds the person radical (亻) with 门 lending the sound. Together they form the warm, inclusive 'we' that wraps in the person you're speaking to.

咱们今天晚上去吃火锅吧。

zán men jīn tiān wǎn shang qù chī huǒ guō ba。

Let's go eat hot pot tonight (you and I).

咱们两个人一起想办法,肯定能解决这个问题。

zán men liǎng gè rén yī qǐ xiǎng bàn fǎ,kěn dìng néng jiě jué zhè gè wèn tí。

The two of us will think of a solution together — we can definitely solve this problem.