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游人 (yóu rén) — tourist

Definition

游人 is a slightly literary word for 'tourist', most often seen in writing about scenic spots. 游客 is the everyday default; 旅客 emphasizes a traveler in transit.

noun
tourist
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 游人。
    Zhè ge chéng shì měi nián xī yǐn hěn duō yóu rén.
    This city attracts many tourists every year.
  • 游人。
    Zhè xiē yóu rén lái zì bù tóng de guó jiā.
    These tourists come from different countries.
  • 游人，。
    yóu rén Zài jǐng qū lǐ màn màn dì zǒu zhe, xīn shǎng fēng jǐng.
    Tourists walk slowly in the scenic area, enjoying the scenery.

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.

游yóutravel
人rénperson

游 and 人 combine: a person who travels, hence a tourist.

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
斿
斿yóu游yóu
Same sound today

游 combines 水 (water) with 斿, which gives the sound yóu and also relates to travelling.

Open 游 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6

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