旁人 (páng rén) — other people; bystanders | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Formal/literary 'other people, bystanders,' often paired with opinions or judgments. 别人 is the everyday default; 人家 can also mean 'they (as a social unit).'

pronoun

other peoplebystanders

Measure word · 个

Examples

旁人。
páng rén De xián huà nǐ bú bì fàng zài xīn shàng.
You don't need to take other people's gossip to heart.
旁人。
Tā zuò shì cóng lái bú zài hu páng rén zěn me kàn.
He never cares what other people think when he does things.
，旁人。
Zhēng chǎo shí, páng rén zuì hǎo bú yào chā shǒu.
When there's an argument, bystanders had better not get involved.

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.

A 人 on the 旁 side means bystander or other people.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

方

方fāng旁páng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 旁, 方 is the lower part and gives the sound. The upper part is unclear and may have been part of the meaning.

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

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 People (General)

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