法国人 (Fǎ guó rén) — French person

Definition

noun
French person
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 法国人。
    Tā shì yí wèi Fǎ guó rén.
    He is a French person.
  • 法国人。
    Hěn duō Fǎ guó rén xǐ huan hē hóng jiǔ.
    Many French people like to drink red wine.
  • 法国人。
    Nà wèi Fǎ guó rén nǚ shì huì shuō zhōng wén.
    That French lady can speak Chinese.

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.

法国France
法fǎFrance国guócountry
偏正Modifier + head
人rénperson

法国 names France and 人 names a person, giving a person from France.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
廌廌zhìa type of antelope or caprid
Sound part声符shēngfú
盍
盍hé法fǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

法's older form combined 氵 (water) and 廌 (a type of antelope or caprid), with 盍 as a sound part; later 廌 was dropped.

Open 法 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 國; 国 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
囗囗wéiclosure
Sound part声符shēngfú
或
或huò國guó
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 國 uses 囗 to show closure and 或 to give the sound.

Open 国 →

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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