伟人 (wěi rén) — great person (often referring to a historically… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

great person (often referring to a historically significant leader or figure)

Measure word · 位

Examples

伟人。
Zhè wèi wěi rén duì guó jiā de gòng xiàn fēi cháng dà.
This great person made a huge contribution to the country.
伟人。
Rén men jiàn le yí zuò jì niàn guǎn lái jì niàn zhè wèi wěi rén.
People built a memorial hall to commemorate this great person.
，伟人。
Tā de sī xiǎng hé jīng shén yǐng xiǎng le yí dài yòu yí dài rén, bú kuì wéi wěi rén.
His thoughts and spirit influenced generation after generation; he truly deserves to be called a great person.

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.

伟 expresses greatness, and 人 is a person; together they mean a great 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 偉; 伟 is its simplified writing.

亻韋偉

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rén

Sound part声符shēngfú

韋

韋wéi偉wěi

Same sound today

The traditional form 偉 combines 亻, a person, with 韋, which gives the sound. The simplified 伟 is a later shorthand.

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

People (General)

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