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某人 (mǒu rén) — a certain person (used to refer to someone without naming them); I, me (used after one's surname in formal or humble self-reference)

Definition

某人 has two distinct uses: with a surname (e.g. 李某人) it is a humble, formal 'I, me' in speech or writing; on its own it means 'a certain person' whose identity is unspecified or concealed.

noun
a certain person (used to refer to someone without naming them)Ime (used after one's surname in formal or humble self-reference)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 某人，。
    Gōng sī lǐ yǒu yí wèi mǒu rén, dà jiā dōu rèn shi tā.
    There is a certain person in the company whom everyone knows.
  • 某人。
    Lǐ mǒu rén duì cǐ shì hěn bào qiàn.
    I, Li, am very sorry about this matter.
  • 某人。
    Jǐng chá zài zhǎo yí wèi mǒu rén.
    The police are looking for a certain 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.

某mǒua certain
人rénperson

某 means a certain and 人 means person, together naming an unnamed person.

Characters in this word

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

The shape shows 木 (tree) with 甘 (sweet); it was originally the form for a Chinese plum, and later became the form for 某.

Open 某 →

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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