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动人 (dòng rén) — touching, moving

Definition

动人 is an adjective describing something that moves or touches the heart. Compared with 感动, which focuses on a person being emotionally moved, 动人 describes the thing (a film, a scene, a voice) that causes the feeling.

adjective
touchingmoving

Examples

  • 动人。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng de jié jú fēi cháng dòng rén.
    The ending of this movie is very touching.
  • 动人。
    Tā de gē shēng dòng rén jí le.
    Her singing is extremely moving.
  • 动人。
    Nà ge gào bié de qíng jǐng shí fēn dòng rén.
    That farewell scene was extremely moving.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

动dòngmove
人rénperson

The first part means move or touch, and the second means person, so the word describes something that moves people.

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 動; 动 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
重
重zhòng動dòng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 動 uses 力 (strength) and 重 as a sound part; 重 refers to a heavy bag ready to be moved by a human. This note is about 動, not 动.

Open 动 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Emotions & Feelings

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