印度人 (yìn dù rén) — Indian person (from India)

Definition

noun

Indian person (from India)

Measure word · 个

印度人。
Wǒ zài gōng sī rèn shi le yí gè yìn dù rén.
I met an Indian person at the company.
印度人。
Hěn duō yìn dù rén dōu huì shuō yīng yǔ.
Many Indians can speak English.
印度人。
Nà wèi yìn dù rén shì wǒ de tóng shì.
That Indian person is my colleague.

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.

印度India

音译Transliteration

“印度” names India and “人” means person, so together they picture a person from India.

Characters in this word

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

印 pairs 爪 (hand) with 卩 (kneeling person), showing a hand pressing down on a kneeling person.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

石

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

度 has 又 (hand) and a changed form of 石; 石 gives a related sound, and the hand is tied to using the hand as a reference for measurement.

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