人贩子 (rén fàn zǐ) — human trafficker; trafficker in human beings

Definition

A colloquial term for a human trafficker, especially one who kidnaps and sells women and children. The suffix 子 gives it a slangy, everyday feel rather than a formal legal label.

noun
human traffickertrafficker in human beings
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 人贩子。
    Jǐng fāng zhèng zài quán lì zhuā bǔ zhè ge rén fàn zǐ.
    The police are doing their best to catch this human trafficker.
  • 人贩子，。
    rén fàn zǐ Shì shè huì de dú liú, bì xū yán lì dǎ jī.
    Human traffickers are a cancer on society and must be severely cracked down on.
  • 人贩子。
    Jiā zhǎng yào jiào yù hái zi rú hé fáng fàn rén fàn zǐ.
    Parents should teach their children how to guard against human traffickers.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

人贩human trafficker
人rénhuman贩fàntrafficker
偏正Modifier + head
子zǐ

“人” (human) and “贩” (trafficker) with “子” denote someone who deals in people.

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 販; 贩 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèicowry
Sound part声符shēngfú
反
反fǎn販fàn
Same sound today

The traditional form 販 combines 貝, a cowry shell, with 反 as a sound part; the simplified 贩 is a shorthand and its right side is not a historical component.

Open 贩 →

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →

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