偷人 (tōu rén) — to have an affair, to commit adultery (of a married person)

Definition

Colloquial verb meaning 'to have an affair' (committed by a married person). Stigmatized and informal — in writing, prefer 通奸 or 出轨.

verb
to have an affairto commit adultery (of a married person)

Examples

  • 偷人。
    Tīng shuō tā tōu rén le.
    I heard he had an affair.
  • 。
    Tā tōu guò yí gè rén.
    He had an affair with someone.
  • 。
    Tā tōu le sān cì rén.
    He had affairs three times.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

偷tōuhave an affair
人rénperson

偷 carries the sense of an affair, and 人 refers to the person in that affair.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
俞
俞yú偷tōu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 亻, a standing person, points to the idea of someone doing the act, while the right part 俞 gives the character its sound.

Open 偷 →

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 →

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