何许人也 (hé xǔ rén yě) — what kind of person (is someone); who (is someone), where is someone from

Definition

Classical/literary set phrase used rhetorically to ask 'who on earth is this person?' — not for neutral biographical questions. Implies surprise, skepticism, or that the person is of unclear or dubious background.

verb
what kind of person (is someone)who (is someone)where is someone from

Examples

  • 何许人也？。
    Zhè wèi xiān sheng jiū jìng shì hé xǔ rén yě? wǒ men dōu bú rèn shi tā.
    Who exactly is this gentleman? None of us know him.
  • 何许人也？。
    Nà jiā gōng sī de chuàng shǐ rén dào dǐ shì hé xǔ rén yě? wǎng shàng chá bú dào zī liào.
    Who exactly is the founder of that company? I can't find any information online.
  • ，，。
    Bié kàn tā chuān dé pǔ tōng, tā kě shì hěn yǒu míng qì de xué zhě, bìng fēi fàn fàn zhī bèi.
    Don't judge by his plain clothes—he is a very famous scholar, no ordinary person.

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The old form of 何 drew a person carrying something on their shoulder. If the carried thing was a 戈, the 人 and 戈 parts together showed that picture.

Open 何 →

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 許; 许 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech; words
Sound part声符shēngfú
午
午wǔ許xǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 許 pairs 言, meaning speech or words, with 午 for its sound; 许 is a simplified form.

Open 许 →

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.

也 originally showed a child crying with an open mouth, with the arms later dropped and the parts fused.

Open 也 →

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