感人 (gǎn rén) — touching; moving | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

感人 describes a thing (story, movie, scene) that moves you emotionally. Unlike 感动, it doesn't describe how a person feels — it describes what causes that feeling.

adjective

touchingmoving

Examples

感人。
Wǒ dú le yì běn gǎn rén de xiǎo shuō.
I read a touching novel.
感人！
Nà ge diàn yǐng zhēn gǎn rén!
That movie is really moving!
，感人。
Měi cì kàn dào zhè zhāng zhào piàn, wǒ dōu jué de hěn gǎn rén.
Every time I see this photo, I find it very touching.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

感 moves 人, naming something that touches people.

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.

咸心感

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

咸

咸xián感gǎn

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

感 pairs 咸, which gives the sound, with 心, the heart, for feeling.

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 4 Emotions & Feelings

Browse more HSK 4 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.