载人 (zǎi rén) — (attributive) manned, crewed (of spacecraft, missions, vehicles)

Definition

A technical term meaning 'manned' or 'crewed' — used in attributive position before nouns like 飞船 and 任务 to describe spacecraft or missions carrying people.

adjective
(attributive) mannedcrewed (of spacecraft, missions, vehicles)

Examples

  • 载人。
    Zhōng guó chéng gōng fā shè le zǎi rén fēi chuán.
    China successfully launched a manned spacecraft.
  • 载人。
    zǎi rén Háng tiān jì shù shì guó jiā de jiāo ào.
    Manned spaceflight technology is the nation's pride.
  • 载人。
    Zhè cì zǎi rén rèn wu xū yào sān míng yǔ háng yuán.
    This manned mission requires three astronauts.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

载zǎicarry
人rénpeople

The sense of 载 carrying joins with 人 people to mean carrying people.

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 載; 载 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jūchariot
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢦏
𢦏𢦏載zài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 載 has 車, a chariot, and 𢦏 gives the sound; 载 is its simplified form.

Open 载 →

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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