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来人 (lái rén) — (noun) messenger; person sent on a mission; (noun) arrivals; people who come

Definition

来人 (láirén) is a formal/literary term for a messenger or person sent to handle a task — rarer in everyday speech than 派个人去 or 来的人. In business or official writing it often means an arriving party, counterpart, or intermediary.

noun
messengerperson sent on a missionarrivalspeople who come

Examples

  • 来人。
    Tā shì běi jīng lái de lái rén.
    He is a messenger from Beijing.
  • 来人。
    lái rén Yǐ jīng děng hòu zài mén kǒu le.
    The messenger is already waiting at the door.
  • 来人。
    Xū yào pài lái rén qù lián xì duì fāng.
    We need to send someone to contact the other party.

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.

来láicome
人rénperson

The 来 sense of coming marks the 人, someone who arrives or is sent.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 來; 来 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 來 shows a wheat plant: a central ear, upward leaves, and downward stem and roots. The simplified 来 is a later shorthand.

Open 来 →

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
People (General)

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