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村民 (cūn mín) — villager

Definition

noun
villager
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 村民。
    cūn mín Men jī jí zhī chí cūn lǐ de jiàn shè.
    The villagers actively support the village's construction.
  • 村民。
    Zhè wèi cūn mín dài biǎo dà jiā tí chū le jiàn yì.
    This villager made a suggestion on behalf of everyone.
  • 村民。
    Dà duō shù cūn mín yǐ zhòng dì wéi shēng.
    Most villagers make a living by farming.

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.

村cūnvillage
民mínpeople

村 means village and 民 means people, so the meaning is people living in a village.

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
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
寸
寸cùn村cūn
Same sound today

村 pairs 木 (tree) with 寸 as a sound hint; its origin is unclear.

Open 村 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The early form of 民 shows an eye pierced by a sharp cross-shaped implement, possibly linked to an injured or unclear eye.

Open 民 →
Appears in
Countryside & Rural

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