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人道主义 (rén dào zhǔ yì) — humanitarianism

Definition

Refers to the ethical principle of promoting human welfare and dignity, often invoked in contexts of aid, rights, and crisis relief (e.g., 人道主义援助).

noun
humanitarianism

Examples

  • 人道主义。
    Tā men xiàng zāi qū tí gōng le dà liàng rén dào zhǔ yì yuán zhù.
    They provided a large amount of humanitarian aid to the disaster area.
  • 人道主义。
    rén dào zhǔ yì Jīng shén shì guó jì shè huì gòng tóng rèn tóng de jià zhí.
    The spirit of humanitarianism is a value commonly recognized by the international community.
  • 人道主义。
    Zhè ge zǔ zhī shǐ zhōng jiān chí rén dào zhǔ yì yuán zé lái bāng zhù yǒu xū yào de rén.
    This organization has always upheld humanitarian principles to help those in need.

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.

人道humanity
人rénhuman道dàoway
偏正Modifier + head
主义ism; doctrine
主zhǔ义yì

人道 (humanity) with 主义 (doctrine) forms 'humanitarianism'.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
行行xíngstreet
止止zhǐfoot
Sound part声符shēngfú
𩠐
首shǒu道dào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Early 道 showed a street 行, a foot 止, and a part written 首 or 𩠐; the right part of 行 later disappeared.

Open 道 →

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

The old forms that became 主 showed a lamp or torch with a flame at the top; other forms showed wood on fire or a spirit tablet.

Open 主 →

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 義; 义 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
羊羊yáng
Sound part声符shēngfú
我
我wǒ義yì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 義 has 我 giving the sound and 羊 meaning good or auspicious; the simplified 义 is a later abbreviation.

Open 义 →
Appears in
Society & Public Life

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