代言人 (dài yán rén) — spokesperson, mouthpiece

Definition

noun
spokespersonmouthpiece
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 代言人
    Tā shì gōng sī de guān fāng dài yán rén.
    He is the company's official spokesperson.
  • 代言人
    Zhè wèi dài yán rén zài xīn wén fā bù huì shàng huí dá le jì zhě de wèn tí.
    This spokesperson answered reporters' questions at the press conference.
  • 代言人
    Zuò wéi pǐn pái dài yán rén, tā xū yào jīng cháng chū xí huó dòng.
    As a brand spokesperson, she needs to attend events frequently.

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.

代言speak for
dàion behalfyánspeech
偏正Modifier + head
rénperson

代言人 brings together 代 on behalf, 言 speech, and 人 person to mean the person who speaks for someone.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
Written in full asrénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
dài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 代, 亻 shows a person, and 弋 gives the sound.

Open 代 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The early form of 言 shows an opening and a mark indicating a location; the location is not described as the source of speech.

Open 言 →

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 →

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