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土人 (tǔ rén) — native people, aborigines (can carry a dismissive or outdated connotation); clay figurine, mud doll

Definition

Two unrelated senses: 'native people / aborigines' (now dated or pejorative — 当地人 is the neutral alternative) and 'clay figurine / mud doll', a small fired clay figure often seen in museums or folk craft.

noun
native peopleaborigines (can carry a dismissive or outdated connotation)clay figurinemud doll

Examples

  • 土人。
    Zhè xiē tǔ rén yǒu zì jǐ de yǔ yán hé wén huà.
    These native people have their own language and culture.
  • 土人。
    Bó wù guǎn lǐ chén liè zhe gǔ dài de tǔ rén.
    The museum displays ancient clay figurines.
  • ，土人。
    Lì shǐ shàng, zhí mín zhě cháng bǎ dāng dì tǔ rén shì wéi yě mán rén.
    Historically, colonizers often viewed the local natives as savages.

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.

土tǔnative or earth
人rénperson

土 means native or earth and 人 means person, so the word denotes local people or clay figures.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 土 →

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
Ethnic Groups & Nationalities

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