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城里人 (chéng lǐ rén) — city dwellers; townspeople

Definition

Word for people who live in a city, often used in contrast with 农村人 to highlight differences in lifestyle and pace between urban and rural China.

noun
city dwellerstownspeople
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 城里人。
    Hěn duō chéng lǐ rén xǐ huan zhù zài shì zhōng xīn.
    Many city dwellers like living in the city center.
  • 城里人。
    chéng lǐ rén De shēng huó jié zòu bǐ nóng cūn kuài.
    The pace of life of city dwellers is faster than in the countryside.
  • 城里人，。
    Wǒ shì chéng lǐ rén, dàn xiǎng qù nóng cūn zhù yí duàn shí jiān.
    I am a city dweller, but want to go live in the countryside for a while.

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.

城里inside the city
城chéngcity里lǐinside
偏正Modifier + head
人rénperson

城里 means inside the city, and 人 means person, so the word denotes a person living in the city.

Characters in this word

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
土土tǔsoil
Sound part声符shēngfú
成
成chéng城chéng
Same sound today

城 pairs 土 (soil) with 成 as a sound part, because city walls were originally made of stamped earth.

Open 城 →

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 裡; 里 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 里 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (里, 里面) it is 裡; in others (公里) it is 里 or 裏.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衤Written in full as衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ裡lǐ
Same sound today

The form 裡 pairs 衤 (clothes) with 里 as a sound component.

Open 里 →

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
City & UrbanPeople (General)

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