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名流 (míng liú) — celebrities, distinguished personages

Definition

Refers to distinguished, high-status public figures in a society — more formal and prestigious than just 'famous people,' emphasizing social standing and influence. Often collocates with 各界 ('from all walks of life') and uses the measure word 位.

noun
celebritiesdistinguished personages
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 名流，。
    Tā shì dāng dì yǒu míng de míng liú, jīng cháng cān jiā gōng yì huó dòng.
    He is a well-known celebrity in the local area and often participates in charity events.
  • 名流。
    Zhè chǎng wǎn yàn yāo qǐng le gè jiè míng liú cān jiā.
    This evening banquet invited celebrities from all walks of life.
  • 名流。
    Tā de péng you quān lǐ yǒu hěn duō lái zì wén yì jiè de míng liú.
    His social circle includes many celebrities from the literary and art circles.

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
流liústream or class

名 means famous and 流 means stream or class; together they name distinguished people.

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 →

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
㐬
㐬㐬流liú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

流 has 水, water, and 㐬, which gives the sound. The water part matches meanings such as flow.

Open 流 →
Appears in
Social Roles & Status

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