疯人 (fēng rén) — lunatic; madman (dated, often derogatory)

Definition

Literary/dated term for a 'madman or lunatic', now mainly used in set phrases like 疯人院 (mental hospital) or literary contexts. Avoid in modern speech — use 疯子 instead.

noun
lunaticmadman (dated, often derogatory)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 疯人。
    Zhè běn xiǎo shuō miáo xiě le yí gè fēng rén de gù shi.
    This novel tells the story of a madman.
  • 疯人。
    Tā xiàng fēng rén yí yàng dà hǎn dà jiào.
    He shouted and screamed like a madman.
  • 。
    Zhè zuò chéng shì de fēng rén yuàn yǐ jīng guān bì le.
    The mental hospital in this city has already been closed.

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.

疯fēngmad
人rénperson

疯 marks the kind of 人, a mad person.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 瘋; 疯 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
疒Written in full as病bìng
Sound part声符shēngfú
風
風fēng瘋fēng
Same sound today

The traditional form 瘋 pairs 疒 (illness) with 風 as a sound part; the simplified 疯 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not a historical sound part.

Open 疯 →

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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