圣人 (shèng rén) — sage, wise person (a person of exceptional wisd…

Definition

Literally 'sage' — a person of supreme wisdom and moral virtue, or a title for Confucius / the emperor in classical Chinese.

noun

sagewise person (a person of exceptional wisdom and moral virtue)the Sage (a title of honor for Confucius)emperor (a post-Tang imperial honorific)

Measure word · 位

圣人，。
Měi gè rén dōu xī wàng chéng wéi shèng rén, dàn hěn shǎo yǒu rén néng zuò dào.
Everyone hopes to become a sage, but very few can achieve it.
圣人。
Kǒng zǐ de yán lùn zhì jīn réng shì shèng rén zhī dào.
Confucius's teachings are still the way of the Sage today.
，圣人。
Táng dài yǐ hòu, shèng rén chéng wéi duì huáng dì de yì zhǒng zūn chēng.
After the Tang dynasty, 'sage' became a respectful title for the emperor.

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.

圣 (holy) and 人 (person) combine to mean a person of great wisdom and virtue.

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 聖; 圣 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

呈

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 聖 puts 耳 (ear) beside 呈, which gives the sound; the simplified 圣 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical parts.

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.

Appears in