山里人 (shān lǐ rén) — mountain dweller, person from the mountains; hillbilly (sometimes mildly derogatory)

Definition

Literally 'mountain-inside person', meaning someone who lives in the mountains. In modern usage it often carries a mocking or condescending tone (like 'hillbilly'), especially when contrasted with city people.

noun
mountain dwellerperson from the mountainshillbilly (sometimes mildly derogatory)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，山里人。
    Wǒ men cūn zi hěn xiǎo, jī hū quán shì shān lǐ rén.
    Our village is very small; almost everyone is a mountain dweller.
  • 山里人，。
    Zhè xiē shān lǐ rén suī rán shēng huó jiǎn pǔ, dàn fēi cháng rè qíng hào kè.
    These mountain people live simply, but they are very warm and hospitable.
  • ，山里人。
    Tā dì yī cì jìn chéng, bèi chéng lǐ rén cháo xiào shì shān lǐ rén.
    When he first entered the city, the city people laughed at him and called him a hillbilly.

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.

山里inside mountain
山shānmountain里lǐinside
偏正Modifier + head
人rénperson

山 means mountain and 里 means inside, so a person from inside the mountains.

Characters in this word

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

山 shows three mountain peaks side by side.

Open 山 →

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 裡; 里 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 里 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (里, 里面) it is 裡; in others (公里) it is 里 or 裏.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衤Written in full as衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ裡lǐ
Same sound today

The form 裡 pairs 衤 (clothes) with 里 as a sound component.

Open 里 →

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 →

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