该人 (gāi rén) — that person (formal, used in legal or official contexts)

Definition

Formal/official term for 'that person (aforementioned)'. Read as 该 + 人, often used in legal and administrative writing to refer back to someone already named. Synonymous in everyday speech with 那个人, but 该人 is restricted to formal written contexts.

noun
that person (formal, used in legal or official contexts)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 该人。
    gāi rén Yǐ jīng bèi jǐng chá dài zǒu le.
    That person has already been taken away by the police.
  • 该人2020。
    gāi rén Yú 2020 nián rù zhí běn gōng sī.
    That person joined our company in 2020.
  • 该人。
    Qǐng què rèn gāi rén de shēn fèn xìn xī.
    Please confirm that person's identity information.

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.

该gāithe said
人rénperson

该 means the said and 人 means person, so it refers to that person in formal speech.

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 該; 该 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
亥
亥hài該gāi
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 該 pairs 言 (speech) with 亥 as a sound part; the simplified 该 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 该 →

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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