智人 (zhì rén) — Homo sapiens (anatomically modern humans)

Definition

noun
Homo sapiens (anatomically modern humans)

Examples

  • 智人。
    Kē xué jiā rèn wéi zhì rén qǐ yuán yú fēi zhōu.
    Scientists believe that Homo sapiens originated in Africa.
  • 智人。
    Zǎo qī zhì rén de nǎo róng liàng yǔ xiàn dài rén xiāng sì.
    Early Homo sapiens had brain volumes similar to modern humans.
  • 智人“”。
    zhì rén Zhè ge míng chēng yì wèi zhe "yǒu zhì huì de rén".
    The name Homo sapiens means 'wise man'.

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.

智zhìwisdom
人rénhuman

智 as wisdom qualifies 人, naming the wise human species.

Characters in this word

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

The early form 智 used 大 (adult), 口 (mouth), and 子 (child): an adult speaking to pass knowledge to a child.

Open 智 →

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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