人物 (rén wù) — person, figure (especially important); character (in literature, film, etc.); figure painting (as a genre of Chinese painting)

Definition

人物 means 'figure' in three senses: a notable person (more formal than 名人, which emphasizes fame), a fictional character, and figure painting as a genre. 身材 is about body shape — people use 人物 for importance or role, not looks.

noun
personfigure (especially important)character (in literature, film, etc.)figure painting (as a genre of Chinese painting)
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 人物
    Zhè wèi lì shǐ rén wù duì shì jiè yǐng xiǎng hěn dà.
    This historical figure has a great influence on the world.
  • 人物
    Xiǎo shuō lǐ de rén wù dōu hěn zhēn shí.
    The characters in the novel are all very realistic.
  • 人物
    Tā xǐ huan huà rén wù huà.
    He likes to paint figure paintings.

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
person

人 and 物 both refer to a person, so 人物 names a person, especially an important one or a character.

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 →

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
Same sound today

物 puts 牛 beside 勿: 牛 gives the meaning, and 勿 gives the sound.

Open 物 →

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