本人 literally means 'this person' — 本 (běn) means 'this' or 'origin', and 人 (rén) means 'person'. Together, they form a formal, self-referential pronoun meaning 'myself' or 'the person himself/herself'. It is used to emphasize personal identity or responsibility, especially in official, written, or polite spoken contexts — such as identification, contracts, applications, or formal introductions. Unlike 我 (wǒ), which is neutral and conversational, 本人 carries a tone of seriousness, objectivity, or institutional formality.

This word is commonly used when speaking about oneself in third-person style for clarity or professionalism — for example, on ID cards, registration forms, or customer service interactions. It avoids ambiguity when distinguishing the speaker from others in the same situation. While grammatically functioning like a pronoun, 本人 cannot be used with plural markers (e.g., *本人们) and rarely appears in casual speech among friends or family.