待人 (dài rén) — to treat people, to behave toward others (espec… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

待人 means 'how one treats people' — used almost only in the pattern 待人… (e.g. 待人接物, 待人处事), not as a standalone verb with a direct object like 对待.

verb

to treat peopleto behave toward others (especially in social interactions)

Examples

待人，。
Tā dài rén hěn shàn liáng, suǒ yǐ dà jiā dōu hěn xǐ huan tā.
He treats people kindly, so everyone likes him.
待人。
Xué huì rú hé dài rén shì yì mén hěn zhòng yào de xué wèn.
Learning how to treat people is a very important skill.
待人。
Tā dài rén de fāng shì ràng rén gǎn dào hěn shū fu.
Her way of treating people makes people feel very comfortable.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

待 means treat and 人 means people, so the word describes how one treats others.

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.

彳寺待

Meaning part形符xíngfú

彳彳chì

Sound part声符shēngfú

寺

寺sì待dài

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

待 is built from 彳 on the left and 寺 on the right; 彳 is tied to the meaning, and 寺 gives the sound.

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.

Appears in

Friends & Social

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