他人 (tā rén) — another person; other people | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

他人 (tārén) is a more formal, written way to say 'other people,' common in essays and ethical contexts like 'respecting others.' In everyday speech, 别人 is the natural choice; 人家 can also mean 'they (slighting)' or 'one's own people.'

pronoun

another personother people

Measure word · 个

Examples

他人。
Wǒ men yào xué huì zūn zhòng tā rén.
We need to learn to respect others.
他人。
Tā cóng bù guān xīn tā rén de xiǎng fǎ.
He never cares about others' thoughts.
他人。
tā rén De bāng zhù ràng wǒ hěn gǎn dòng.
Others' help moved me greatly.

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.

The sense of other in 他 combines with 人 to give another person.

Characters in this word

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

亻也他

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénman

Sound part声符shēngfú

也

也yě他tā

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

他 combines 亻 (a person) with 也, which was chosen for its sound.

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.

Appears in

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