居民 (jū mín) — resident; inhabitant | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

General word for 'resident / inhabitant' of any area (city, neighborhood, community). Compare 市民 (city resident only) and 住户 (occupant of a specific housing unit).

noun

residentinhabitant

Measure word · 个

Examples

居民。
Zhè ge chéng shì de jū mín yuè lái yuè duō.
The residents of this city are increasing more and more.
居民。
Shè qū wèi jū mín tí gōng le hěn duō fú wù.
The community provides many services for residents.
居民。
jū mín Men duì xīn de zhèng cè hěn mǎn yì.
Residents are very satisfied with the new policy.

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.

居 means dwell and 民 means people, giving inhabitants.

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.

尸古居

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

古

古gǔ居jū

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

居 is built from 尸 as the meaning part and 古 (gǔ) as the sound part.

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

The early form of 民 shows an eye pierced by a sharp cross-shaped implement, possibly linked to an injured or unclear eye.

Appears in

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