明白人 (míng bái rén) — a perceptive and sensible person; someone who understands things deeply and acts wisely

Definition

A person with sharp judgment who quickly sees how things work and what to do — someone who "gets it." Carries a strong positive sense; the opposite of a 糊涂人.

noun
a perceptive and sensible personsomeone who understands things deeply and acts wisely
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 明白人，。
    Tā shì gè míng bái rén, yì yǎn jiù kàn chū le wèn tí.
    She's a perceptive person and spotted the problem at a glance.
  • 明白人。
    Zhè zhǒng dào lǐ zhǐ yǒu míng bái rén cái néng lǐ jiě.
    Only a sensible person could understand this kind of reasoning.
  • ，明白人。
    Nǐ gēn tā jiǎng méi yòng, tā bú shì gè míng bái rén.
    Talking to him is pointless — he's no perceptive person.

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.

明白clear
明míngclear白báiclear
联合Side by side
人rénperson

明 and 白 together mean clear, and 人 means person, so it is a clear-headed person.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

明 combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), showing the sun just rising while the moon has not yet set, or two bright objects in the sky, to express brightness.

Open 明 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

白 is thought to picture either an acorn or a human head.

Open 白 →

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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