村里人 (cūn lǐ rén) — villager(s); people from the village

Definition

noun
villager(s)people from the village
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 村里人。
    Wǒ men cūn de cūn lǐ rén dōu hěn rè qíng.
    The villagers in our village are all very warm-hearted.
  • 村里人。
    Zhè wèi cūn lǐ rén zhī dào nà tiáo xiǎo lù.
    This villager knows that small path.
  • 村里人。
    Hěn duō cūn lǐ rén dōu qù chéng lǐ dǎ gōng le.
    Many villagers have gone to the city to work.

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.

村里inside the village
村cūnvillage里lǐinside
偏正Modifier + head
人rénperson

村 and 里 give the idea of the village interior, the place of the 人.

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 裡; 里 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 里 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (里, 里面) it is 裡; in others (公里) it is 里 or 裏.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衤Written in full as衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ裡lǐ
Same sound today

The form 裡 pairs 衤 (clothes) with 里 as a sound component.

Open 里 →

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.

Open 人 →

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