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名人 (míng rén) — famous person, celebrity

Definition

A person who is widely known to the public. 明星 is more like a 'star' in entertainment; 人士 is a formal compound-word head meaning 'a person of [some field]' (e.g. 业内人士).

noun
famous personcelebrity
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 名人。
    Tā hěn xiǎng chéng wéi yí wèi míng rén.
    He really wants to become a celebrity.
  • 名人。
    Wǒ zài diàn shì shàng kàn dào le nà wèi míng rén.
    I saw that celebrity on TV.
  • 名人。
    Zhè zhāng zhào piàn lǐ yǒu jǐ wèi míng rén.
    There are several celebrities in this photo.

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.

名míngfamous
人rénperson

名 (famous) with 人 (person) means a well-known person.

Characters in this word

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

名 puts 夕 (crescent moon) above 口 (mouth), showing a name spoken in the dark.

Open 名 →

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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