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移民 (yí mín) — (verb) to immigrate, to migrate; (noun) immigrant, emigrant

Definition

移民 (yímín) is a verb/noun specifically about people moving to live in a new country ('to immigrate' / 'an immigrant'). 移动 is a general verb for physical movement; 迁徙 and 迁移 are formal/literary, often for animals or data.

verb
to immigrateto migrate
noun
immigrantemigrant

Examples

  • 移民。
    Tā men qù nián yí mín dào le jiā ná dà.
    They immigrated to Canada last year.
  • 移民。
    Zhè xiē yí mín zài zhè lǐ zhǎo dào le xīn gōng zuò.
    These immigrants found new jobs here.
  • 移民。
    Hěn duō rén xuǎn zé yí mín dào ōu zhōu shēng huó.
    Many people choose to immigrate to Europe to live.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

移yímove
民mínpeople

移 expresses moving and 民 is the people moved, so 移民 means to relocate people or a relocated 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
禾禾hé
Sound part声符shēngfú
多
多duō移
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

移 pairs 禾, a grain plant, with 多, which gives the sound.

Open 移 →

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

The early form of 民 shows an eye pierced by a sharp cross-shaped implement, possibly linked to an injured or unclear eye.

Open 民 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 5Society & Public Life5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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