阴阳人 (yīn yáng rén) — hermaphrodite; intersex person; (figuratively) two-faced person; hypocrite

Definition

Literally 'yin-yang person': its literal sense refers to someone with both male and female biological traits (intersex). The figurative sense — 'two-faced / hypocritical' — is the one learners will meet in novels and conversation.

noun
hermaphroditeintersex person(figuratively) two-faced personhypocrite
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 阴阳人，。
    Hái zi chū shēng shí bèi zhěn duàn wèi yīn yáng rén, fù mǔ fēi cháng dān xīn.
    The child was diagnosed as an intersex person at birth, and the parents were very worried.
  • 阴阳人，。
    Tā zuì tǎo yàn yīn yáng rén zhè zhǒng rén, biǎo miàn yí tào bèi hòu yí tào.
    He hates two-faced people the most — one way to your face, another behind your back.
  • 阴阳人，。
    Xiǎo shuō lǐ de jué sè shì gè diǎn xíng de yīn yáng rén, ràng dú zhě yòu hèn yòu pà.
    The character in the novel is a typical two-faced person, making readers both hate and fear him.

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.

阴阳yin and yang
阴yīnyin阳yángyang
联合Side by side
人rénperson

阴阳 (yin and yang) and 人 (person) form a person of both sides.

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 陰; 阴 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阜阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
侌
侌yīn陰yīn
Same sound today

The traditional form 陰 combines 阜, the meaning part, with 侌, the sound part. The simplified 阴 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 阴 →

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 陽; 阳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阜阜fùhill
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng陽yáng
Same sound today

In the traditional form 陽, 阜 shows a hill and 昜 is the older character for the word, tied to sunshine and the sound; simplified 阳 is a later shorthand.

Open 阳 →

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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