收信人 (shōu xìn rén) — recipient of a letter; addressee

Definition

noun

recipient of a letteraddressee

收信人。
Zhè fēng xìn de shōu xìn rén shì wǒ de lǎo shī.
The recipient of this letter is my teacher.
收信人。
Qǐng bǎ shōu xìn rén de dì zhǐ xiě qīng chǔ.
Please write the addressee's address clearly.
收信人。
shōu xìn rén Bì xū zài xìn fēng shàng zhù míng.
The recipient must be indicated on the envelope.

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.

收信receive letters

动宾Verb + object

收信 (receive letters) and 人 (person) together describe the person receiving letters.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

攴攴pū

Sound part声符shēngfú

丩

丩jiū收shōu

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

收 uses 攴 to show an action and 丩 as a sound clue; the old meaning was 'to arrest.'

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánwords

Sound part声符shēngfú

人

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

信 pairs 人 as the sound part with 言 (words) as the meaning part.

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