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当事人 (dāng shì rén) — party (to an affair), person involved

Definition

A formal/legal term for the person or side directly involved in a matter (a dispute, contract, or lawsuit). Unlike 聚会 ('gathering/party'), it never means a social event — here 'party' refers only to a side in a case.

noun
party (to an affair)person involved
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 当事人。
    Hé tong shuāng fāng dāng shì rén yīng dāng zūn shǒu xié yì.
    The parties to the contract should abide by the agreement.
  • 当事人。
    Fǎ guān yāo qiú suǒ yǒu dāng shì rén tí gōng zhèng jù.
    The judge required all parties to provide evidence.
  • 当事人。
    Zhè jiàn shì de dāng shì rén yǐ jīng dá chéng le hé jiě.
    The parties involved in this matter have already reached a settlement.

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.

当事involved in a matter
当dānghandle/be involved with事shìmatter
动宾Verb + object
人rénperson

当事 means involved in a matter and 人 means person, so together they name a person involved.

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 當; 当 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng當dāng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 當 combines 田 (field) with 尚; the evidence describes fields facing each other.

Open 当 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Open 事 →

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
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