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真人 (zhēn rén) — real person (as opposed to fictional or virtual); (Daoism) immortal, perfected person

Definition

Literally 'true/really a person': in everyday modern Chinese it means a 'real person' (not a fictional character, avatar, or virtual figure). In Daoism it refers to an immortal who has attained the Dao through self-cultivation.

noun
real person (as opposed to fictional or virtual)(Daoism) immortalperfected person
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 真人，。
    Zhè ge yóu xì lǐ de jué sè bú shì zhēn rén, shì xū gòu de.
    The characters in this game are not real people; they are fictional.
  • ，真人。
    Zài dào jiào chuán shuō zhōng, zhēn rén kě yǐ cháng shēng bù lǎo.
    In Daoist legends, immortals can live forever without aging.
  • 真人，。
    Tā shì yí wèi dé dào de zhēn rén, zhù zài shēn shān lǐ.
    He is an attained immortal, living deep in the mountains.

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.

真zhēnreal
人rénperson

真 means real and 人 means person, so it names a real person or perfected 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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèicowrie; shell
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠂈
𠂈𠂈真zhēn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

真 pairs 貝 (cowrie shell, used for the meaning) with 𠂈, which gave the sound and originally drew a headlong fall.

Open 真 →

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
People (General)Religion & Belief

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