恩人 (ēn rén) — benefactor; someone who has done a great favor… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

恩人 is the person who showed the kindness — 'the benefactor.' 恩情 is the kindness itself, an abstract feeling or debt, not a person.

noun

benefactorsomeone who has done a great favor for you

Measure word · 个

Examples

恩人。
Zhè wèi ēn rén zài wǒ zuì kùn nan de shí hou bāng zhù le wǒ.
This benefactor helped me when I was in the most difficult time.
恩人。
Wǒ yǒng yuǎn bú huì wàng jì ēn rén de ēn qíng.
I will never forget the kindness of my benefactor.
恩人。
Wǒ men quán jiā dōu hěn gǎn jī zhè wèi ēn rén.
Our whole family is very grateful to this benefactor.

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.

恩 (favor) and 人 (person) combine to mean a person tied to a favor, a benefactor.

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.

因心恩

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

因

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

恩 puts 因, which gives the sound, beside 心, a heart.

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

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Friends & Social People (General)

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