Wiktionary

大人

Chinese

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Etymology 1

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big; great; huge
big; great; huge; large; major; wide; deep; oldest; eldest; doctor
 
 man; person; people
simp. and trad.
(大人) 		大 人
alternative forms 大儂／大侬 Min Nan
anagram 人大

Pronunciation

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Noun

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大人

  1. adult; grown-up
    萬聖節裝扮不是大人的專利，那些拍門討糖果的小孩裝扮也可以十分出色！ [MSC, trad.]
    万圣节装扮不是大人的专利，那些拍门讨糖果的小孩装扮也可以十分出色！ [MSC, simp.]
    Wànshèngjié zhuāngbàn bùshì dàrén de zhuānlì, nàxiē pāi mén tǎo tángguǒ de xiǎohái zhuāngbàn yě kěyǐ shífēn chūsè! [Pinyin]
    Halloween costumes are not just for adults - the costumes of children who ask for candy can also be extraordinary!
    轉大人／转大人 [Hokkien]  ―  tńg tāi-jîn [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  to grow up into an adult
Synonyms
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Antonyms
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Etymology 2

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big; great; huge
big; great; huge; large; major; wide; deep; oldest; eldest; doctor
 
 man; person; people
simp. and trad.
(大人) 		大 人
alternative forms 大儂／大侬 (dua7 nang5) Teochew
anagram 人大
address towards Japanese officials; "police officer"
Borrowed from Japanese 大人 (taijin), from Chinese 大人 (dàrén).

Pronunciation

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Note: dai6 ring5 - address towards Japanese officials.
Rime
Character 大 大 人
Reading # 1/2 2/2 1/1
Initial (聲) 定 (7) 定 (7) 日 (38)
Final (韻) 泰 (25) 歌 (94) 眞 (43)
Tone (調) Departing (H) Departing (H) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open Open Open
Division (等) I I III
Fanqie 徒蓋切 唐佐切 如鄰切
Baxter dajH daH nyin
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/dɑiH/ /dɑH/ /ȵiɪn/
Pan
Wuyun 		/dɑiH/ /dɑH/ /ȵin/
Shao
Rongfen 		/dɑiH/ /dɑH/ /ȵʑjen/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/dajH/ /daH/ /ȵin/
Li
Rong 		/dɑiH/ /dɑH/ /ȵiĕn/
Wang
Li 		/dɑiH/ /dɑH/ /ȵʑĭĕn/
Bernhard
Karlgren 		/dʱɑiH/ /dʱɑH/ /ȵʑi̯ĕn/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		dài duò rén
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		daai6 do6 jan4
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 大 大 人
Reading # 1/2 2/2 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		dà dà rén
Middle
Chinese 		‹ daH › ‹ dajH › ‹ nyin ›
Old
Chinese 		/*lˁat-s/ (MC F!) /*lˁa[t]-s/ /*ni[ŋ]/
English big big (other) person

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 大 大 人
Reading # 1/2 2/2 1/1
No. 1934 1939 10800
Phonetic
component 		大 大 人
Rime
group 		祭 祭 眞
Rime
subdivision 		1 1 1
Corresponding
MC rime 		䭾 大 仁
Old
Chinese 		/*daːds/ /*daːds/ /*njin/

Noun

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大人

  1. (archaic) person of high rank (such as a ruler or noble)
    Antonym: 小人 (xiǎorén)
  2. (honorific) Your Excellency; His Excellency (form of address to a higher-up)
    Synonym: 閣下 / 阁下 (géxià)
    法官大人  ―  fǎguān dàrén  ―  Your Honour
  3. (literary) form of address to one's parents or elder members of the family
  4. (historical, Taiwanese Hokkien and Japanese-occupied Shantou Teochew) An address used by ordinary citizens to address Japanese occupation officials: sir
  5. (Taiwanese Hokkien, dated or regional) police officer
  6. (Xiamen and Quanzhou Hokkien, religion) paper person, used as a scapegoat
Synonyms
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Dialectal synonyms of 警察 (“police; police officer”) [map]
Variety Location Words
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) 警察, 警官, 警員
Northeastern Mandarin Beijing 警察, 雷子 argot
Taiwan 警察
Chifeng 警察
Hulunbuir (Hailar) 警察
Harbin 警察
Shenyang 警察
Malaysia 警察, 馬打
Singapore 警察, 馬打 dated
Jilu Mandarin Tianjin 警察
Tangshan 警察
Cangzhou 民警
Baoding 警察
Shijiazhuang 警察
Jinan 警察
Jiaoliao Mandarin Yantai (Muping) 警察
Qingdao 警察
Central Plains Mandarin Luoyang 警察
Wanrong 警察
Zhengzhou 警察
Xi'an 警察
Xining 警察
Xuzhou 警察
Lanyin Mandarin Yinchuan 警察
Lanzhou 警察
Ürümqi 警察
Southwestern Mandarin Chengdu 警察
Chongqing 警察
Wuhan 警察
Guiyang 警察, 警士 dated, 警士先生 dated face-to-face, 貓菜 dated nickname
Kunming 警察
Guilin 警察
Liuzhou 警察, 警伯 playful
Binyang (Nanjie) 警察, 走狗 argot
Xiangtan (Jiangnan Industries Group koine) 警察
Dagudi (Maliba) 警察
Reshuitang (Longling) 警察
Mae Salong (Lancang) 警察
Mae Sai (Tengchong) 警察
Jianghuai Mandarin Nanjing 警察
Yangzhou 警察
Nantong 警察
Hefei 警察
Cantonese Guangzhou 警察, 差人, 差佬 male, 老二 dated
Hong Kong 警察, 差人, 阿Sir male, madam female, 差佬 male, slightly derogatory, 差婆 female, slightly derogatory, 警犬 derogatory, 狗 derogatory, 龜 derogatory, 老更 dated
Taishan 警察
Dongguan 阿Sir, 差佬
Qinzhou 警察, 差佬
Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô) 警察, 公安
Beihai (Qiaogang - Cát Bà) 警察, 公安, 差佬
Fangchenggang (Fangcheng) 警察
Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu) 馬打
Singapore (Guangfu) 馬打
Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu) 公安, 綠衣, 警察
Móng Cái 警察, 公安
Gan Lichuan 警察
Hakka Meixian 警察
Yudu 警察
Miaoli (N. Sixian) 警察
Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) 警察
Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) 警察
Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) 巡查, 警察
Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) 警察
Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) 巡查
Huizhou Jixi 警察
Shexian 警察
Jin Taiyuan 警察
Xinzhou 警察, 小對子 dated
Linhe 警察
Jining 警察
Hohhot 警察
Zhangjiakou 警察
Handan 警察
Eastern Min Fuzhou 警察
Fuqing 警察
Matsu 警察
Southern Min Xiamen 警察, 馬打 dated, 烏跤 dated, derogatory
Quanzhou 警察
Zhangzhou 警察, 烏跤 dated, derogatory
Taipei 大人
Kaohsiung 警察
Yilan 警察
Changhua (Lukang) 警察
Taichung 巡查
Taichung (Wuqi) 警察
Tainan 大人, 賊頭 GT, derogatory
Hsinchu 警察
Kinmen 馬打
Penghu (Magong) 大人
Penang (Hokkien) 馬打
Singapore (Hokkien) 馬打, 大狗
Manila (Hokkien) 兵, 警察, 臭兵 derogatory
Guilin (Biyange) 警察
Chaozhou 警察
Shantou 警察
Johor Bahru (Teochew) 馬打
Singapore (Teochew) 馬打, 大狗, 大狗兄
Batam (Teochew) 馬打
Haikou 警察
Central Min Nanping (Wangtai, Yanping) 警察
Zhongshan Min Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi) 警察, 差佬
Southern Pinghua Nanning (Tingzi) 警察
Wu Shanghai 警察, 黑貓警長, 黑貓, 老貓
Shanghai (Chongming) 警察
Suzhou 警察
Danyang 警察
Ningbo 警察, 警察爛眼 derogatory
Wenzhou 警察
Jinhua 警察
Xiang Changsha 警察
Loudi 警察
Note GT - General Taiwanese (no specific region identified)
  • (paper person): (Hokkien) 魂身
Derived terms
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Descendants

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Sino-Xenic (大人):

Others:

References

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Japanese

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Etymology 1

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Kanji in this term
大 人
おとな
Grade: 1 Grade: 1
jukujikun

Appears in sources from the Heian period. Derivation unknown.

Alternative forms

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  • 乙名 (only for the "leader" senses)

Pronunciation

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Noun

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大人(おとな) • (otona) 

  1. an adult, a grown-up
    大人(おとな)（へ）の階(かい)段(だん)をのぼる
    otona (e) no kaidan o noboru
    to ascend the staircase of (/towards) [being an] adult: to mature
    • 2010 December 8, Hideaki Sorachi, “第(だい)三(さん)百(びゃく)二(に)十(じゅう)二(に)訓(くん)　二(に)度(ど)あることは三(さん)度(ど)ある [Lesson 322: Twice, Thrice That There Are]”, in 銀(ぎん)魂(たま) [Silver Soul], volume 37 (fiction), Tokyo: Shueisha, →ISBN:
      まずはこのローションをかぶってだな
      Mazu wa kono rōshon o kabutte da na
      First we slap on some lotion
      ちょっと待(ま)てぇぇぇ‼　それどこの大人(おとな)のプールぅ⁉
      Chotto mateeee‼ Sore doko no otona no pūrū⁉
      Hold o-o-o-on!! Are you tryna turn this place into an adult pool!?
  2. (uncommon, possibly archaic) a leader:
    1. an elder of a group or community
    2. in the late Muromachi period, the representative of a village or guild
    3. the head lady-in-waiting
    4. one's wife
    5. in the Edo period, a kind of civil servant working in Nagasaki
    6. the head servant

Adjective

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大人(おとな) • (otona) -na (adnominal 大人(おとな)な (otona na), adverbial 大人(おとな)に (otona ni))

  1. mature; grown-up
    大人(おとな)な感(かん)じのお店(みせ)
    otona na kanji no o-mise
    shop that has a mature atmosphere
    大人(おとな)な対(たい)応(おう)
    otona na taiō
    mature response to the situation
  2. adult; sexual

Etymology 2

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Kanji in this term
大 人
うし
Grade: 1 Grade: 1
jukujikun

From Old Japanese.[3] Appears in the Nihon Shoki, completed in 720 CE. Derivation unknown.

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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大人(うし) • (ushi) 

  1. (honorific) a lord, a landowner
  2. an honorific form of reference for a scholar or teacher, or one's own father
  3. an honorific form of reference for the addressee

Etymology 3

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Kanji in this term
大 人
たい
Grade: 1 		じん
Grade: 1
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 大人 (dɑiH ȵʑjen, literally “big, great + person”). Compare modern Hokkien 大人 (tāi-jîn / tāi-lîn), Cantonese 大人 (daai6 jan4).

The kan'on reading, so likely a later borrowing.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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大(たい)人(じん) • (taijin) 

  1. a large person
  2. a giant
  3. an adult
  4. a person of high rank, a ruler or noble
  5. an honorific form of reference for a scholar or teacher, or one's own parent
  6. a daimyo
Synonyms
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Etymology 4

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Kanji in this term
大 人
だい
Grade: 1 		にん
Grade: 1
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 大人 (dɑiH ȵiɪn, literally “big, great + person”). Compare modern Hakka 大人 (thai-ngìn).

The goon reading, so likely an earlier borrowing.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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大(だい)人(にん) • (dainin) 

  1. an adult, a grown-up
  2. (Buddhism) the Buddhas and bodhisattvas

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
  3. ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

Korean

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Hanja in this term
大人

Noun

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大人 • (daein) (hangeul 대인)

  1. hanja form? of 대인 (“adult”)

Okinawan

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Kanji in this term
大 人
うふ
Grade: 1 		っちゅ
Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Etymology 1

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From Proto-Ryukyuan *opopito.

From 大 (ufu-, “big”) +‎ 人 (tchu, “person”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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大(うふ)人(っちゅ) (ufutchu) 

  1. adult
    大(うふ)人(っちゅ)ぬ配(くば)い
    ufutchu nu kubai
    treatment of an adult

Etymology 2

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Kanji in this term
大 人
Grade: 1 Grade: 1
irregular

Borrowed from Japanese 大人 (otona).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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大人(うとぅな) (utuna) 

  1. (literary) adult
    一(いち)のかいぢ二(に)かいぢ読(よ)でど遊(あす)びゆたる何時(いつ)の間(ま)に里(さと)や大人(おとな)なたが
    ichi nu keji ni ni keji yudidu ashibyutaru ichi nu ma ni satu ya utuna nataga
    You used to play around by [counting stones and] counting one to two times, but when is the time that you have become an adult?

References

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  • “うふっちゅ【大人】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.
  • “ウフッチュ” in Okinawa Center of Language Study, Shuri-Naha Dialect Dictionary (archived; reopens 2024).(permanent dead link)
  • “ウトゥナ” in Okinawa Center of Language Study, Shuri-Naha Dialect Dictionary (archived; reopens 2024).(permanent dead link)

Vietnamese

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chữ Hán Nôm in this term
大人

Noun

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大人

  1. chữ Hán form of đại nhân (“noble man”).
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