Definition
对象 has two senses: (1) the target or object of an action (research, criticism, etc.) — unlike neutral 事物/物体, it implies being acted upon; (2) a gender-neutral term for boyfriend/girlfriend, more natural than specifying 女朋友/男朋友 when gender is clear. For the target sense, 对象 is broader than 靶子 (a literal or figurative target).
noun
targetobject (of research, criticism, etc.)boyfriendgirlfriendromantic partner
Measure word · 个
Examples
- 对象？Nǐ duì xiàng shì zuò shénme gōngzuò de?What does your boyfriend/girlfriend do for work?
- 对象。Zhè cì diàochá de duì xiàng shì dàxuéshēng.The target of this survey is college students.
- 对象。Tā pīpíng de duì xiàng bú shì wǒmen gōngsī.The target of his criticism is not our company.
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