泥人 (ní rén) — clay figurine (a small statue made of clay, often as folk art)

Definition

noun
clay figurine (a small statue made of clay, often as folk art)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 泥人。
    Wǒ xǐ huan shōu jí ní rén.
    I like collecting clay figurines.
  • 泥人。
    Tā sòng gěi wǒ yí gè piào liang de ní rén.
    He gave me a beautiful clay figurine.
  • 泥人。
    Zhè xiē ní rén dōu shì shǒu gōng zhì zuò de.
    These clay figurines are all handmade.

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.

泥níclay
人rénfigure

泥 gives clay and 人 gives figure; 泥人 can mean a clay figurine or a nuisance.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
尼
尼ní泥nì
Same sound today

The left side is 氵, the water part; the right side is 尼, which gives the sound.

Open 泥 →

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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