时人 (shí rén) — contemporaries

Definition

Literary/archival term for 'people of the same era' — almost always used when discussing how a historical figure was viewed during their own lifetime, not people alive today. Reads as formal written Chinese; in modern speech use 同时代的人.

noun
contemporaries

Examples

  • 时人。
    shí rén Duì tā de gòng xiàn jǐ yǔ gāo dù píng jià.
    Contemporaries gave high praise to his contributions.
  • 时人。
    Zhè wèi zuò jiā de zuò pǐn shòu dào dāng shí shí rén de xǐ ài.
    This writer's works were loved by people of the time.
  • 时人。
    shí rén De jì zǎi shì yán jiū lì shǐ de zhòng yào zī liào.
    Records by contemporaries are important materials for studying history.

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.

时shítime
人rénpeople

时 time points to the period, and 人 people are those living then, hence contemporaries.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 時; 时 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
日日rìsun; day
Sound part声符shēngfú
之
之zhī時shí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 時 pairs 日 (sun/day) with 之 as the part that gives the sound; the simplified 时 is not the form described.

Open 时 →

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 →

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