Meaning of 熟人
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- acquaintance
- friend
How to use 熟人
熟人 refers to someone you know, often more than a stranger but not necessarily a close friend. It often appears when talking about connections or help, as in finding a job through people you know. Example: 我在这家公司有个熟人。(Wǒ zài zhè jiā gōngsī yǒu gè shúrén.) I have an acquaintance at this company.
熟 (shú) means cooked or ripe, and by extension familiar, while 人 (rén) means person. A 熟人 is a person you have "cooked" long enough to know well, someone familiar to you.
Common mistake: Many learners mix up 熟 (shú) with 热 (rè, hot), because both have the four dots 灬 at the bottom. Also note that 熟 is often pronounced shóu in casual speech, but the standard reading in 熟人 is shúrén.
熟人 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.
熟 shú · ripe · 15 strokes
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人 rén · person · 2 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 熟人.
| 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 熟人
What does 熟人 mean?
熟人 (shúrén) means "acquaintance; friend" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 熟人?
熟人 is made of 2 characters: 熟 (15 strokes), 人 (2 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 熟人 an HSK word?
Yes. 熟人 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 熟人 and 朋友?
朋友 (péngyou) is a friend you have a personal bond with. 熟人 is broader and can mean anyone you know, like a neighbor or a coworker you chat with. Not every 熟人 is a 朋友.
What is the opposite of 熟人?
The opposite is 生人 (shēngrén) or 陌生人 (mòshēngrén), meaning a stranger. Just as 熟 can mean cooked, 生 can mean raw, so the pair matches familiar and unfamiliar.