Meaning of 名人
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- personage
- celebrity
How to use 名人
名人 is a neutral, everyday word for a famous person, used for celebrities, historical figures, and well-known experts. It often appears with words like 历史 (lìshǐ, history) or 网络 (wǎngluò, internet). Example: 他是一个很有名的名人。(Tā shì yí gè hěn yǒumíng de míngrén.) He is a very famous person.
名 (míng) means name and 人 (rén) means person. A 名人 is a person whose name everyone knows.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes say 有名人 when they mean famous person. The adjective is 有名 (yǒumíng, famous) and the noun is 名人, so say 他很有名 or 他是名人. Also keep both syllables in second tone: míngrén, not mìngrén.
名人 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
名 míng · name · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
人 rén · person · 2 strokes
- 1
- 2
Related words
Words that share a character with 名人.
| 女人 | nǚrén | woman |
| 男人 | nánrén | a man; a male |
| 名字 | míngzi | name (of a person or thing) |
| 别人 | biérén | other people; others; other person |
| 家人 | jiārén | family member; (old) servant |
| 病人 | bìngrén | sick person; patient |
| 工人 | gōngrén | worker |
| 老人 | lǎorén | old man or woman; the elderly |
| 有名 | yǒumíng | famous; well-known |
| 有人 | yǒu rén | someone; people |
| 人们 | rénmen | people |
| 大人 | dàren | adult; grownup |
Questions about 名人
What does 名人 mean?
名人 (míngrén) means "personage; celebrity" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 名人?
名人 is made of 2 characters: 名 (6 strokes), 人 (2 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 名人 an HSK word?
Yes. 名人 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 名人 and 明星?
明星 (míngxīng) means a star, usually an actor, singer, or athlete in entertainment. 名人 is broader and can include writers, scientists, and historical figures who are not entertainers.
Can 名人 refer to people from the past?
Yes. 名人 works for anyone well known, living or dead. For example, 历史名人 (lìshǐ míngrén) means famous figures in history, and 名人故居 (míngrén gùjū) is the former home of a famous person.