证人 (zhèng rén) — witness

Definition

证人 is a person who testifies in court — a human source of testimony, not physical evidence (证据). Use 作证人 ('serve as a witness') when someone takes this role.

noun
witness
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 证人。
    Jǐng fāng zhèng zài xún zhǎo mù jī zhèng rén.
    The police are looking for an eyewitness.
  • 证人。
    zhèng rén Zài fǎ tíng shàng tí gōng le guān jiàn zhèng jù.
    The witness provided key evidence in court.
  • 。
    Tā yuàn yì wèi zhè qǐ shì gù zuò zhèng rén.
    He is willing to be a witness for this accident.

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.

证zhèngtestify
人rénperson

证 means to testify and 人 is person, so 证人 is a person who testifies.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 證; 证 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
登
登dēng證zhèng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 證 pairs 言, a words/speech part, with 登 as a sound clue; the simplified 证 is a later shorthand.

Open 证 →

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
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