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华裔 (Huá yì) — ethnic Chinese (person of Chinese descent who is a citizen of another country)

Definition

华裔 refers to ethnic Chinese who are citizens of another country. Compare 华人: 华人 is a broader term for ethnic Chinese people (including citizens of China and overseas Chinese), while 华裔 specifically implies foreign citizenship.

noun
ethnic Chinese (person of Chinese descent who is a citizen of another country)
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 华裔。
    Zhè wèi Huá yì qǐ yè jiā wèi dāng dì jīng jì zuò le hěn dà gòng xiàn.
    This ethnic-Chinese entrepreneur has made great contributions to the local economy.
  • 华裔，。
    Wǒ lín jū shì Huá yì, dàn bú huì shuō zhōng wén.
    My neighbor is of Chinese descent, but can't speak Chinese.
  • 华裔。
    Hěn duō Huá yì zài hǎi wài yī rán bǎo liú zhe guò chūn jié de chuán tǒng.
    Many ethnic Chinese abroad still keep the tradition of celebrating Spring Festival.

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.

华huáChinese
裔yìdescendant

The 'Chinese' sense of 华 and the 'descendant' sense of 裔 combine to mean a person of Chinese ancestry.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 華; 华 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 華 showed flowers on a plant, with stalk and leaves below. The simplified 华 is a later shorthand and not the original picture.

Open 华 →

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
衣衣yīcloth
Sound part声符shēngfú
㕯
吶nà裔⁰yì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

裔 pairs 衣 (cloth) with 㕯 (also written 吶) for its sound.

Open 裔 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 5

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