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人马 (rén mǎ) — (figurative) personnel, staff, forces (collective group, often in an organized or military context)

Definition

人马 literally means 'people and horses' — the modern figurative sense is a collective group of personnel or forces, often military or organized. Use it for a team or crew, not for an individual.

noun
(figurative) personnelstaffforces (collective group, often in an organized or military context)

Examples

  • 人马。
    Wǒ men gōng sī de rén mǎ yǐ jīng zhǔn bèi hǎo le.
    Our company's staff is already prepared.
  • 人马。
    Zhè cì xíng dòng pài chū le yì zhī jīng ruì de rén mǎ.
    This operation dispatched an elite team.
  • 。
    Tā de rén mǎ zhèng zài jiā jǐn shī gōng.
    His crew is speeding up the construction work.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

人rénperson
马mǎhorse

人 and 马 stand side by side, originally meaning people and horses, then extended to personnel and troops.

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 馬; 马 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 馬 shows a horse with its head facing left, a flowing mane, and two legs standing vertically.

Open 马 →
Appears in
Groups & Organizations

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