贤人 (xián rén) — a person of virtue and wisdom; a worthy sage

Definition

Literary word for a virtuous, wise person. Plain 好人 just means 'good person'; 贤人 emphasizes moral character and wisdom, like a 'sage' or 'worthy'.

noun
a person of virtue and wisdoma worthy sage
Measure word · 位
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，贤人。
    Kǒng zǐ zhōu yóu liè guó shí, yù dào le bù shǎo xián rén.
    When Confucius traveled through various states, he met many worthy sages.
  • 贤人。
    Zhè bù gǔ jí jì zǎi le xǔ duō gǔ dài xián rén de gù shi.
    This ancient book records the stories of many ancient sages.
  • ，贤人。
    Tā yì shēng dàn bó míng lì, bèi hòu rén chēng wéi xián rén.
    He lived a life indifferent to fame and fortune, and later generations called him a worthy sage.

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.

贤xiánvirtuous
人rénperson

贤人 combines 贤 'virtuous' and 人 'person' to mean a virtuous 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 賢; 贤 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèimoney
Sound part声符shēngfú
臤
臤qiān賢xián
Same sound today

The traditional form 賢 pairs 貝 (money) with 臤 for sound to write 'worthy/valuable, like money'. The simplified 贤 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 贤 →

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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