人口 (rén kǒu) — population; (number of) people (in a region)

Definition

人口 is the total population of a country, region, or the world — used in statistics and formal contexts, unlike 人数 (just the count of people in a group) or 人群 (a crowd).

noun
population(number of) people (in a region)

Examples

  • 人口
    Zhōng guó rén kǒu hěn duō.
    China's population is very large.
  • 人口
    Zhè ge guó jiā rén kǒu zēng zhǎng hěn kuài.
    This country's population is growing fast.
  • 人口
    Shì jiè rén kǒu yǐ jīng chāo guò bā shí yì le.
    The world's population has already exceeded eight billion.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

rénperson
kǒucounted person

人 and 口 both point to persons, with 口 used for counted household members, so together they name population.

Characters in this word

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.

The form 口 looks like an open mouth.

Open 口 →

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