正派人 (zhèng pài rén) — a decent person | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A 'decent / upstanding person' — emphasizes moral uprightness and good conduct, stronger than just 好人 (a good person) and more about character than 老实 (honest, plain).

noun

a decent person

Measure word · 个

Examples

正派人。
Tā shì yí gè zhèng pài rén.
He is a decent person.
正派人。
Wǒ fù qīn yì zhí jiào yù wǒ yào zuò yí gè zhèng pài rén.
My father always taught me to be a decent person.
正派人。
Nà ge zhèng pài rén bāng zhù le hěn duō xū yào bāng zhù de rén.
That decent person helped many people in need.

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.

正派upright

正zhèngupright派pàimanner

偏正Modifier + head

正派 (upright) and 人 (person) together mean a decent person.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

丁dīng正zhèng

Same sound today

正 pairs 止 with 丁; 止 marks the sense and 丁 gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

水水shuǐwater; river

Sound part声符shēngfú

𠂢

𠂢𠂢派pài

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

派 is built from 水 (water/river) and 𠂢. 𠂢 gives the sound, and 水 was added later to tell the character apart from the older form.

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.

Appears in

People (General)Personality & Traits

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