本文探討在《世說新語》中所謂「偏指相字」的語用現象。文中首先對歷來「偏指相字」的研究作一檢討，指出「偏指相字」在語法上，並非如呂叔湘氏所說的代詞性副詞；其真正語法作用是省略「相+V」之後的賓語。一般 多以為「偏指相字」具有指代作用，本文則主張「相」字其實並無指代作用，它之所以讓人誤解真有指代作用是由於「相+V」之後一般皆有賓語省略現 象，因此常讓人誤以為「相」字指代被省略的賓語。由於此類「相」字本身語意已經虛化，並不帶有實質語意，其作用主要在省略動詞後的賓語，因此本文主張其既非代詞，亦非副詞，而應歸為動詞詞頭 ( 或前綴詞 ) 。在語用層面上，《世說新語》中「偏指相字」的類型以對話類和敘事領區分，則是敘事類型較多，而對話類較少，兩者比例約為5：3。就語用功能而言，本文反對「偏指相字」屬於具有尊敬意義的禮貌敬語的看法，因為在《世說新語》中，可以看到各種地位、立場不同的相字句使用類型，例如「上對下」 、 「下對上」 、 「平輩之間」 、 「夫妻之間」 、 「對陌生人」 、 「褒揚讀譽」和「貶抑責難」等各種立場不同的使用類型。是以本文認為它所反映的是一種以施事者為中心，企圖顯示與對方地位平等的語用策略。因而隨著施事者與受事者相對地位的不同，可以靈活的調整自己與受事者之間的社會距離。此外，本文亦指出由於「偏指相字句」所省略的賓語皆為已知的舊訊息，「偏指的相字句」比互指的相字旬，在語言篇章的使用上更受限制。

This article deals with the special kind of "Pian Zhi Xiang Zi" in the text of Shi Shuo Xin Yu (A New Account of Tales of the World) from two perspectives, one grammatical and the other pragmatic. From the grammat-ical perspective, we refute the traditional view that the "Pian Zhi Xiang Zi " is either a pronoun or an adverb (or a pronominal adverb), and suggest that it actually works as a verb prefix and its grammatical function is to delete the object after verb in the "Pian Zhi Xiang Zi" construction. It is the connection between the "Xiang Zi" and the deleted object that often leads to the common misconception that the "Pian Zhi Xiang Zi" stands for a deleted pronoun. From the pragmatic point of view, we argue against an assertion established by previous studies, namely, that the "Pian Zhi Xiang Zi" is a polite form in speech. By examining the data in Shi Shuo Xin Yu, we demonstrate that the sociolinguistic situations in which the "Xiang Zi" is used are far wider than a polite form of speech. It can be found in both the appreciation and criticism; it can also be found in the speech use of high status to low status, low status to high status, and between equal statuses. Thus, we conclude that the "Xiang Zi" demonstrates a pragmatic strategy which tends to show a more equal status between the agent and the object in the construction. In other words, the "Pian Zhi Xiang Zi" reflects a flexible adjustment between the social distance of the agent and the object. This flexibility raises an interesting point which deserves our attention, especially when we consider the strict social statuses in the world of Shi Shuo Xin Yu. In addition, this paper points out that since the object deleted by the "Pian Zhi Xiang Zi" construction always stands for old information, not new information, the use of "Pian Zhi Xiang Zi" is therefore even more restricted than the use of normal "Xiang Zi."