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受害人 (shòu hài rén) — victim

Definition

受害人 is the injured or affected party in a crime or disaster — a general, neutral legal/formal term. Pairs naturally with the offender 罪犯 in news and legal contexts.

noun
victim
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 受害人。
    Lǜ shī zhèng zài wèi shòu hài rén biàn hù.
    The lawyer is defending the victim.
  • 受害人。
    Zhè cì dì zhèn de shòu hài rén dé dào le jí shí jiù zhù.
    The victims of this earthquake received timely assistance.
  • 受害人。
    Jǐng fāng zhèng zài què rèn shòu hài rén de shēn fèn.
    The police are confirming the victim's identity.

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.

受害suffer harm
受shòureceive害hàiharm
动宾Verb + object
人rénperson

受害 means to receive harm and 人 means person, so it names a person who suffers harm.

Characters in this word

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

受 possibly combines 爪 and 又 as hands with 舟 as a boat, to show handing something over.

Open 受 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀mián
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
丯
丯jiè害hài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

害 was borrowed purely for its sound. Its old picture, possibly a house rafter, is unrelated to harm.

Open 害 →

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
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