银发 (yín fā) — silvery hair (of older people); (as a prefix) senior, elderly (in compounds)

Definition

银发 literally 'silver hair' — a polite, respectful Chinese euphemism for older people, commonly seen in compounds like 银发经济 ('silver economy') and 银发族 ('seniors'). Prefer it over calling someone 老人 when writing about seniors as a group.

noun
silvery hair (of older people)(as a prefix) seniorelderly (in compounds)

Examples

  • 银发。
    Lǎo rén yǒu yì tóu měi lì de yín fā.
    The old person has a head of beautiful silver hair.
  • 银发。
    yín fā Jīng jì zhèng zài chéng wéi xīn de zēng zhǎng diǎn.
    The silver economy is becoming a new growth point.
  • 银发。
    Hěn duō yín fā zú xǐ huan zài gōng yuán sàn bù.
    Many senior citizens like to take walks in the park.

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.

银yínsilver
发fāhair

银 gives the silvery color and 发 gives hair, meaning hair like silver.

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 銀; 银 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
艮
艮gèn銀yín
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 銀 has 金, meaning metal, and 艮, used for the sound; the simplified 银 is a shorthand.

Open 银 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Open 发 →

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