父老乡亲 (fù lǎo xiāng qīn) — fellow townspeople, local folks, community elders (respectful term)

Definition

A respectful, warm collective term for the people of one's hometown or village — like saying 'my dear乡亲 and elders'. Strong literary and emotional tone, more honorific than plain 大家.

idiom
fellow townspeoplelocal folkscommunity elders (respectful term)

Examples

  • ，父老乡亲。
    Tā huí dào jiā xiāng, shòu dào le fù lǎo xiāng qīn de rè liè huān yíng.
    He returned to his hometown and received a warm welcome from the local folks.
  • 父老乡亲。
    Zhè wèi lǎo shū jì yí bèi zi dōu zài wèi fù lǎo xiāng qīn fú wù.
    This old secretary has spent his whole life serving the community.
  • ，父老乡亲。
    Měi féng jiā jié, tā zǒng huì xiǎng qǐ jiā xiāng de fù lǎo xiāng qīn.
    Every festival, he always thinks of the folks back home.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

父老elders
父fùfather/elder老lǎoelder
联合Side by side
乡亲hometown kin
乡xiānghometown亲qīnkin
偏正Modifier + head

“父老” means elders and “乡亲” means hometown kin, together naming local folks and community elders.

Characters in this word

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

The shape 父 shows a hand holding a stone blade, referring to a man working with a stone axe.

Open 父 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape 老 combines 人 (man), 毛 (hair), and 匕 (cane), showing a man with long hair leaning on a cane.

Open 老 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鄉; 乡 is its simplified writing.

  • 𠨍𠨍𠨍two people facing each other
  • 皀皀jía round-mouthed food vessel

The traditional form 鄉 combines two people facing each other with a round-mouthed food vessel, depicting a feast. The village meaning is connected to this feasting event.

Open 乡 →

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 親; 亲 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
辛
辛xīn親qīn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 親 uses 見 (see) for sense and 辛 (a chisel) for sound; the simplified 亲 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 亲 →

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