神人

Chinese

		God; unusual; mysterious God; unusual; mysterious; soul; spirit; divine essence; lively; spiritual being	man; person; people
simp. and trad. (神人)		神	人
anagram		人神

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shénrén

  (Zhuyin): ㄕㄣˊ ㄖㄣˊ

• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): sṳ̀n-ngìn
• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Northern): ⁶zen-zen

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shénrén
    • Zhuyin: ㄕㄣˊ ㄖㄣˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shénrén
    • Wade–Giles: shên²-jên²
    • Yale: shén-rén
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shernren
    • Palladius: шэньжэнь (šɛnʹžɛnʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂən³⁵ ʐən³⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: sṳ̀n-ngìn
    • Hakka Romanization System: siinˇ nginˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: sin² ngin²
    • Sinological IPA: /sɨn¹¹ ŋin¹¹/
• Wu
  • (Shanghai):
    • Wugniu: ⁶zen-zen
    • MiniDict: zen^去 zen
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³zen-zen
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /zən²² zən⁴⁴/

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• Middle Chinese: zyin nyin

Rime
Character	神	人
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	船 (27)	日 (38)
Final (韻)	眞 (43)	眞 (43)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	III
Fanqie	食鄰切	如鄰切
Baxter	zyin	nyin
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ʑiɪn/	/ȵiɪn/
Pan Wuyun	/ʑin/	/ȵin/
Shao Rongfen	/ʑjen/	/ȵʑjen/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ʑin/	/ȵin/
Li Rong	/d͡ʑiĕn/	/ȵiĕn/
Wang Li	/d͡ʑĭĕn/	/ȵʑĭĕn/
Bernard Karlgren	/d͡ʑʰi̯ĕn/	/ȵʑi̯ĕn/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	shén	rén
Expected Cantonese Reflex	san4	jan4

Noun

神人

1. (literary) god; deity; spiritual being; immortal

   • 昔孝明皇帝，夢見神人，身有日光，飛在殿前。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     昔孝明皇帝，梦见神人，身有日光，飞在殿前。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Mouzi Lihuolun

     Xī Xiàomíng huángdì, mèngjiàn shénrén, shēn yǒu rìguāng, fēi zài diàn qián. [Pinyin]

     In the past, Emperor Ming of Han dreamed of a spiritual being, whose body shone with sunlight and flew to the front of his palace.

2. (literary) gods and humans
3. (literary) man of great talent

See also

• 天人 (tiānrén)

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
神	人
じん Grade: 3	にん Grade: 1
goon

Alternative spelling
神人 (kyūjitai)

From Middle Chinese compound 神人 (MC zyin nyin). The 呉音 (goon) reading, so likely the initial borrowing.

Replaced by the jinin reading.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) じんにん [jìńníń] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [d͡ʑĩɲ̟ɲ̟ĩɴ]

Noun

神(じん)人(にん) • (jinnin) 

1. (archaic) a low-ranking position at a shrine, helping to conduct the yearly ceremonies and patrolling the grounds, among other responsibilities

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
神	人
じ Grade: 3	にん Grade: 1
irregular	goon

Alternative spelling
神人 (kyūjitai)

/d͡ʑinnin/ → /d͡ʑinin/

Change in pronunciation from jinnin. Now the more common reading.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) じにん [jìníń] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [d͡ʑiɲ̟ĩɴ]

Noun

神(じ)人(にん) • (jinin) 

1. from the Heian period through the Muromachi period, a low-ranking position at a shrine, helping to conduct the yearly ceremonies and patrolling the grounds, among other responsibilities

   In the late Heian period, the jinin position was useful for the protection offered by shrine authority, and mass demonstrations were held to press for various governmental changes, much as were held by Buddhist monks. Starting from the Kamakura period, lay people such as merchants or performers would subordinate to a shrine as jinin for purposes of exemption from various taxes or corvee labor requirements.

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
神	人
しん Grade: 3	じん Grade: 1
kan’on

Alternative spelling
神人 (kyūjitai)

From Middle Chinese compound 神人 (MC zyin nyin). The kan'on reading, so likely a later borrowing.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) しんじん [shìńjíń] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ɕĩɲ̟d͡ʑĩɴ]

Noun

神(しん)人(じん) • (shinjin) 

1. gods and humans
2. a person of god-like nobility
3. a person with mystical or god-like power
4. (shinto) alternate for jinin above: a low-ranking position at a shrine, helping to conduct the yearly ceremonies and patrolling the grounds, among other responsibilities

Derived terms

• 神人同形説(しんじんどうけいせつ) (shinjin dōkei setsu): a belief or perspective that applies human or human-like qualities to gods and/or spirits, as a kind of personification

Proper noun

神(しん)人(じん) • (Shinjin) 

1. (Christianity) Jesus, Jesus Christ

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
神	人
かみ Grade: 3	ひと > びと Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
神人 (kyūjitai)

Compound of 神 (kami, “god, spirit”) +‎ 人 (hito, “person”). The hito changes to bito as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ka̠mʲibʲito̞]

Noun

神(かみ)人(びと) • (kamibito) 

1. (archaic, Shinto) a priest
   • c. 1001–1014, Murasaki Shikibu, Genji Monogatari (Wakana, part 2) (text here):

     神人(かみびと)の手(て)に取(と)りもたる榊葉(さかきば)に / 木綿(ゆふ)かけ添(そ)ふる深(ふか)き夜(よ)の霜(しも)

     kamibito no te ni torimotaru sakakiba ni / yufu kake sofuru fukaki yo no shimo

     the deep night's frost accompanies the ceremonial ties / on the sakaki leaves held in the hands of the priests

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
神	人
かみ(ん) Grade: 3	ちゅ Grade: 1
kun’yomi	irregular

Alternative spelling
神人 (kyūjitai)

From Okinawan 神人, in turn from 神 (kami, “god, spirit”) +‎ ん (n, possessive particle, reduced form of ぬ (nu)) +‎ 人 (tchu, “person”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ka̠mʲĩɲ̟t͡ɕɨᵝ]

Noun

神(かみん)人(ちゅ) • (kaminchu) 

1. (Okinawa, Shinto) Synonym of 巫女 (miko, “shrine maiden”)