侨民 (qiáo mín) — overseas nationals; expatriates (citizens living abroad)

Definition

侨民 refers to nationals of a country who live abroad, especially long-term residents or emigrant communities. It emphasizes citizenship and ties to the home country, more formal than 华人.

noun
overseas nationalsexpatriates (citizens living abroad)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 侨民。
    Xǔ duō qiáo mín zài guó wài shēng huó duō nián hòu xuǎn zé huí guó.
    Many overseas nationals choose to return to their home country after living abroad for many years.
  • 侨民。
    Zhèng fǔ wèi hǎi wài qiáo mín tí gōng le lǐng shì bǎo hù.
    The government provides consular protection for overseas nationals.
  • 侨民。
    Zhè ge shè qū zhù zhe hěn duō lái zì bù tóng guó jiā de qiáo mín.
    This community is home to many expatriates from different countries.

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.

侨qiáooverseas
民mínpeople

“侨” refers to living abroad and “民” means people; the word names nationals living outside their homeland.

Characters in this word

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 僑; 侨 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
喬
喬qiáo僑qiáo
Same sound today

The traditional form 僑 pairs 亻 (person) with 喬 as a sound part; the simplified 侨 is a later shorthand.

Open 侨 →

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

The early form of 民 shows an eye pierced by a sharp cross-shaped implement, possibly linked to an injured or unclear eye.

Open 民 →

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