路人 (lù rén) — passer-by, stranger | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

路人 is 'passer-by, stranger' — a general everyday word. 行人 is more specific, used mainly in traffic/formal contexts for 'pedestrian'.

noun

passer-bystranger

Measure word · 个

Examples

路人。
Nà ge lù rén kàn le wǒ yì yǎn jiù zǒu le.
That passer-by glanced at me and left.
路人，。
Jiē shàng lù rén hěn duō, dàn méi rén zhù yì dào tā.
There are many passers-by on the street, but no one noticed him.
路人，。
Tā zhǐ shì yí gè lù rén, wǒ bú rèn shi tā.
He is just a stranger; I don't know him.

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.

“路” (road) and “人” (person) combine to mean a person on the road, hence a passer-by or stranger.

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

各

各gè路lù

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

路 combines 足, a foot, with 各, which supplies the sound.

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

HSK 3.0 Level 5 People (General)

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