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军人 (jūn rén) — soldier, serviceman, military personnel

Definition

军人 refers to an individual member of the armed forces — a person, not the institution itself (use 军队 for 'the military'). More formal than 士兵 or 兵; 战士 leans toward fighter/combatant.

noun
soldierservicemanmilitary personnel
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 军人。
    Zhè wèi jūn rén wèi guó jiā zuò chū le hěn dà gòng xiàn.
    This soldier has made great contributions to the country.
  • 军人。
    Tā fù qīn shì yì míng jūn rén.
    Her father is a soldier.
  • 军人。
    Xǔ duō jūn rén zài jié rì qī jiān réng rán jiān shǒu gǎng wèi.
    Many soldiers remain steadfast at their posts during the holidays.

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.

军jūnmilitary
人rénperson

军 specifies a military role, and 人 means person, giving a soldier.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 軍; 军 is its simplified writing.

  • 車車jūcart; chariot
  • 勹勹bāoto surround

In the traditional form 軍, 車 shows the chariot sense, while the part now written 勹 is a sound part, not the 'surround' 勹. Simplified 军 is a later shorthand.

Open 军 →

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 →
Appears in
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