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人气 (rén qì) — popularity, public appeal

Definition

人气 is how well-received or popular someone or something is — usually measured moment-to-moment, like a singer or a product. 声望 is longer-term reputation in society; 热度 is the temporary 'buzz' level.

noun
popularitypublic appeal
Easily confused

Examples

  • 人气，。
    Zhè wèi gē shǒu rén qì hěn gāo, měi chǎng yǎn chàng huì dōu bào mǎn.
    This singer has very high popularity; every concert is packed.
  • 人气。
    rén qì Gāo de shāng pǐn wǎng wǎng mài dé hěn kuài.
    Products with high popularity tend to sell very quickly.
  • 人气。
    Zuì jìn tā de rén qì xià jiàng le bù shǎo.
    His popularity has dropped quite a bit recently.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

人rénpeople
气qìair or energy

人 people plus 气 air or energy gives public appeal and popularity.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
气
气qì氣qì
Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Open 气 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Society & Public Life

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.