越南人 (yuè nán rén) — Vietnamese person (countable); Vietnamese people (collective)

Definition

noun
Vietnamese person (countable)Vietnamese people (collective)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 越南人。
    Tā shì yí wèi yuè nán rén.
    He is a Vietnamese person.
  • 越南人。
    Hěn duō yuè nán rén zài zhōng guó gōng zuò.
    Many Vietnamese people work in China.
  • 越南人。
    Wǒ rèn shi yí gè yuè nán rén.
    I know a Vietnamese person.

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.

越南Vietnam
越yuèViet南nánsouth
偏正Modifier + head
人rénperson

越南 (Vietnam) and 人 (person) together name someone from Vietnam.

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
走走zǒuto walk or run
Sound part声符shēngfú
戉
戉yuè越yuè
Same sound today

越 is built from 走 (to walk or run) and 戉 (which supplies the sound); the 走 part shows the idea of going over or crossing.

Open 越 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 南 →

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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