Meaning of 恩人
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- a benefactor
- a person who has significantly helped sb else
How to use 恩人
恩人 is a strong, heartfelt word for someone who helped you in a big way, such as saving your life or changing your future. It is often used with 救命 (jiùmìng, to save a life) or in phrases of thanks. Example: 他是我的救命恩人。(Tā shì wǒ de jiùmìng ēnrén.) He is the person who saved my life.
恩 (ēn) means kindness or grace, and it has 心 (xīn, heart) at the bottom. A 恩人 is the person (人, rén) whose kindness you carry in your heart.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes use 恩人 for anyone who did a small favor, but it sounds too dramatic for everyday help. For a friend who lent you a pen, just say 谢谢 or call them 好心人 (hǎoxīnrén, kind person). Also keep 恩 (ēn) in the first tone and do not confuse it with 思 (sī, think), which has 田 on top instead of 因.
恩人 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.
恩 ēn · kindness · 10 strokes
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人 rén · person · 2 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 恩人.
| 女人 | nǚrén | woman |
| 男人 | nánrén | a man; a male |
| 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 |
| 有人 | yǒu rén | someone; people |
| 人们 | rénmen | people |
| 大人 | dàren | adult; grownup |
| 客人 | kèrén | visitor; guest; customer |
| 好人 | hǎorén | good person; healthy person |
Questions about 恩人
What does 恩人 mean?
恩人 (ēnrén) means "a benefactor; a person who has significantly helped sb else" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 恩人?
恩人 is made of 2 characters: 恩 (10 strokes), 人 (2 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 恩人 an HSK word?
Yes. 恩人 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say you will repay a benefactor in Chinese?
A common phrase is 报恩 (bào'ēn), to repay kindness. You might hear 我一定要报答我的恩人 (Wǒ yídìng yào bàodá wǒ de ēnrén), I must repay my benefactor.
What is the opposite of 恩人?
The usual opposite is 仇人 (chóurén), an enemy or someone you hold a grudge against. The pair 恩 and 仇 often appear together, as in 恩仇 (ēnchóu), kindness and hatred.