TongTong
Sign in

人际 (rén jì) — interpersonal

Definition

人际 is an adjective meaning 'interpersonal' — used to modify nouns like 关系 or 沟通. It always appears before a noun; 私人 instead emphasizes 'private / personal' in the sense of not public or not official.

adjective
interpersonal

Examples

  • 。
    Tā hěn huì chǔ lǐ rén jì guān xì.
    He is good at handling interpersonal relationships.
  • 人际。
    Gōng sī xū yào jiā qiáng rén jì gōu tōng.
    The company needs to strengthen interpersonal communication.
  • 。
    Liáng hǎo de rén jì guān xì duì gōng zuò hěn zhòng yào.
    Good interpersonal relationships are very important for work.

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.

人rénpeople
际jìbetween; boundary

人 (people) and 际 (between, boundary) combine to mean between people.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 際; 际 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
祭
祭jì際⁰jì
Same sound today

The traditional form 際 pairs 阝 with 祭: 阝 gives the meaning and 祭 gives the sound. The simplified 际 is a later shorthand.

Open 际 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Friends & Social

Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.