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女人 (nǚ rén) — woman

Definition

Plain everyday word for 'woman' (adult female). 女性 is more formal/written; 妇女 is often 'women' as a group, esp. in social contexts; 夫人 is a polite term like 'Mrs. / lady'.

noun
woman
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 女人。
    Tā shì yí gè hěn piào liang de nǚ rén.
    She is a very beautiful woman.
  • 女人。
    Nà ge nǚ rén shì wǒ de péng you.
    That woman is my friend.
  • 女人？
    Nǐ rèn shi zhè ge nǚ rén ma?
    Do you know this woman?

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.

女nǚfemale
人rénperson

女 gives female and 人 gives person, yielding woman.

Characters in this word

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

女 shows a woman with folded arms, kneeling or standing. In the modern form the figure faces right, and the small enclosed part is what is left of one arm.

Open 女 →

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 3500 Most Frequent Chinese WordsHSK 2.0 Level 21000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsPeople (General)2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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