洋人 (yáng rén) — foreigner (used historically or with a slightly dated, sometimes exoticizing flavor)

Definition

Historically common term for 'foreigner,' now dated and avoided in everyday speech. Use 外国人 or 老外 instead; 洋人 only appears in historical or literary contexts (e.g. late Qing novels).

noun
foreigner (used historically or with a slightly dated, sometimes exoticizing flavor)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，洋人。
    Qīng mò de shí hou, hěn duō yáng rén lái dào zhōng guó zuò shēng yi.
    In the late Qing dynasty, many foreigners came to China to do business.
  • ‘洋人’，‘’‘’。
    Xiàn zài dà jiā bù shuō 'yáng rén' liǎo, dōu shuō 'wài guó rén' huò 'lǎo wài'.
    Now people don't say 'yángrén' anymore; they say 'wàiguó rén' or 'lǎo wài'.
  • 洋人。
    Zhè běn xiǎo shuō miáo xiě de yáng rén xíng xiàng dài yǒu míng xiǎn de shí dài tè zhēng.
    The image of foreigners depicted in this novel carries clear features of the era.

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.

洋yángforeign
人rénperson

“洋” means foreign and “人” means person, naming someone from abroad.

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
羊
羊yáng洋yáng
Same sound today

洋 pairs 氵, the water part, with 羊 to give its sound.

Open 洋 →

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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