Meaning of 居民
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- resident; inhabitant
How to use 居民
居民 is a neutral, slightly formal word often heard in news, notices and government contexts, especially for people living in a city, district or residential compound. It often follows a place name or 小区 (xiǎoqū, residential community). Example: 这个小区的居民都很友好。(Zhège xiǎoqū de jūmín dōu hěn yǒuhǎo.) The residents of this community are all very friendly.
居 (jū) means to live or reside, and 民 (mín) means people, so 居民 is simply the people who live in a place. Picture the 民 people settled inside their homes, and you have the residents of a neighborhood.
Common mistake: Learners often use 居民 where 公民 (gōngmín) is needed. 居民 means someone who lives in a place, while 公民 means a legal citizen of a country. A foreigner living in Beijing is a 北京居民 but not a 中国公民.
居民 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.
居 jū · to live · 8 strokes
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民 mín · citizens · 5 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 居民.
| 人民 | rénmín | the people |
| 公民 | gōngmín | citizen |
| 农民 | nóngmín | peasant; farmer |
| 民族 | mínzú | nationality; ethnic group |
| 民间 | mínjiān | among the people; popular |
| 人民币 | rénmínbì | Renminbi, the official currency of the PRC (currency codes: RMB or CNY) |
| 中华民族 | Zhōnghuá Mínzú | the Chinese nation; the Chinese people (collective reference to all the ethnic groups in C |
| 移民 | yímín | to immigrate; to migrate |
| 居住 | jūzhù | to reside; to dwell |
| 居然 | jūrán | unexpectedly; to one's surprise |
| 邻居 | línjū | neighbor |
| 国民 | guómín | nationals; citizens |
Questions about 居民
What does 居民 mean?
居民 (jūmín) means "resident; inhabitant" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 居民?
居民 is made of 2 characters: 居 (8 strokes), 民 (5 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.
Is 居民 an HSK word?
Yes. 居民 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say 'local residents' in Chinese?
You can say 当地居民 (dāngdì jūmín). It is common in news reports, for example 当地居民很关心这个问题 (Local residents care a lot about this issue).
Can 居民 be used for one person?
Yes, Chinese nouns do not change for plural, so 居民 can mean one resident or many. For a single person you can say 一位居民 (yí wèi jūmín), and for a group you can add 们 informally or just rely on context.