主人公 (zhǔ rén gōng) — protagonist, main character (of a novel, film, play, etc.)

Definition

主人公 refers to the fictional protagonist of a novel, film, or play — the character whose story is told, not a real-life 英雄 ('hero'). For a performer in that role, use 主演.

noun
protagonistmain character (of a novel, film, play, etc.)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 主人公。
    Zhè bù xì de zhǔ rén gōng shì yí wèi nián qīng de nǚ lǜ shī.
    The protagonist of this play is a young female lawyer.
  • 主人公。
    zhǔ rén gōng De mìng yùn zǒng shì qiān dòng zhe dú zhě de xīn.
    The protagonist's fate always touches the readers' hearts.
  • ，主人公。
    Zài zhè bù zuò pǐn zhōng, zhǔ rén gōng jīng lì le xǔ duō mào xiǎn.
    In this work, the protagonist goes through many adventures.

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.

主人host/master
主zhǔmaster人rénperson
偏正Modifier + head
公gōngrespectful term for a person

主人 (host/master) and 公 (respectful term for a person) together name the leading person in a story.

Characters in this word

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

The old forms that became 主 showed a lamp or torch with a flame at the top; other forms showed wood on fire or a spirit tablet.

Open 主 →

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 →

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

One theory sees 公 as a picture of a wide-mouthed, round-bottomed jar.

Open 公 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Literature & PoetryPeople (General)

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