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诱人 (yòu rén) — attractive, tempting, alluring

Definition

诱人 focuses on how something tempts or entices the senses (smell, looks, offers) — closer to 迷人 ('enchanting, charming') than to the active verb 吸引 ('to attract').

attractivetemptingalluring

Examples

  • 诱人。
    Zhè ge qiǎo kè lì wén qǐ lái hěn yòu rén.
    This chocolate smells very tempting.
  • 诱人。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī de zhāo pìn tiáo jiàn fēi cháng yòu rén.
    This company's recruitment conditions are very attractive.
  • 诱人。
    Tā de xiào róng yòu rén jí le.
    Her smile is extremely captivating.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

诱yòulure
人rénpeople

诱 means to lure, and 人 refers to people; together they describe something that lures people.

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 誘; 诱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword, language
Sound part声符shēngfú
秀
秀xiù誘yòu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 誘 pairs 言 (word, language) with 秀, which supplies the sound.

Open 诱 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Appearance

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