土着人 (tǔ zhù rén) — aboriginal person | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Refers to the original inhabitants of a region before colonization or outside influence. In modern Chinese this is often avoided in favor of 原住民 (yuánzhùmín), which is the neutral, standard term for indigenous peoples.

noun

aboriginal person

Measure word · 个

Examples

土着人。
Zhè xiē tǔ zhù rén yǐ jīng zài zhè lǐ shēng huó le jǐ qiān nián.
These aboriginal people have lived here for thousands of years.
土着人。
Zhèng fǔ yīng gāi bǎo hù tǔ zhù rén de wén huà yǔ quán lì.
The government should protect the culture and rights of the aboriginal people.
土着人。
Zhè ge dǎo shàng zhù zhe hěn duō tǔ zhù rén.
Many aboriginal people live on this island.

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.

土着native local

土tǔnative着zheattached

偏正Modifier + head

土着 points to native local inhabitants, and 人 gives the sense of a person, yielding an aboriginal person.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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 著; 着 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艸艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

者

者zhě著zháo

Same sound today

The traditional form 著 puts 艸 (grass; plant) above 者, which gives the sound; the simplified 着 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

Ethnic Groups & Nationalities

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