大人
Chinese Edit
Etymology 1 Edit
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 Edit
Noun Edit
大人
- 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.]
- 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!
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.]- 轉大人/转大人 [Hokkien] ― tńg tōa-lâng [Pe̍h-ōe-jī] ― to grow up into an adult
Synonyms Edit
Antonyms Edit
Etymology 2 Edit
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 Edit
Noun Edit
大人
- (archaic) person of high rank (such as a ruler or noble)
- Antonym: 小人 (xiǎorén)
- 孟子曰:「說大人,則藐之,勿視其巍巍然。……」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: Mencius, c. 4th century BCE
- Mèngzǐ yuē: “Shuō dàrén, zé miǎo zhī, wù shì qí wēiwēi rán.......” [Pinyin]
- Mencius said, "When one counsels a powerful man one must view him as very small and ignore his grandeur. [...]"
孟子曰:“说大人,则藐之,勿视其巍巍然。……” [Classical Chinese, simp.]- 故兼者聖王之道也,王公大人之所以安也,萬民衣食之所以足也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: Mozi, c. 4th century BCE, translated based on Y. P. Mei's version
- Gù jiān zhě shèngwáng zhī dào yě, wánggōngdàrén zhī suǒyǐ ān yě, wànmín yīshí zhī suǒyǐ zú yě. [Pinyin]
- Therefore, inclusivity is really the way of the sage-kings. It is what gives peace to the kings, nobles, and magnates and sustenance to the people.
故兼者圣王之道也,王公大人之所以安也,万民衣食之所以足也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
- (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
- (historical, Taiwanese Hokkien and Japanese-occupied Shantou Teochew) An address used by ordinary citizens to address Japanese occupation officials: sir
- (Taiwanese Hokkien, dated or regional) police officer
- (Xiamen and Quanzhou Hokkien, religion) paper person, used as a scapegoat
Synonyms Edit
- (police officer):
Derived terms Edit
Descendants Edit
References Edit
- 陈业建 (2015-12-20), “抗战时期潮人的特殊口语”, in 汕头特区晚报[1]
- “Entry #221”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (in Chinese and Min Nan), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2011.
Japanese Edit
Etymology 1 Edit
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 Edit
- 乙名 (only for the "leader" senses)
Pronunciation Edit
Noun Edit
- an adult, a grown-up
- 大人(へ)の階段をのぼる
- otona (e) no kaidan o noboru
- to ascend the staircase of (/towards) [being an] adult: to mature
- 2010 December 8, Hideaki Sorachi, “第三百二十二訓 二度あることは三度ある”, in 銀魂, 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
- Chotto mateeee‼ Sore doko no otona no pūrū⁉
- Hold o-o-o-on!! Are you tryna turn this place into an adult pool!?
- まずはこのローションをかぶってだな
- 大人(へ)の階段をのぼる
- (uncommon, possibly archaic) a leader:
- an elder of a group or community
- in the late Muromachi period, the representative of a village or guild
- the head lady-in-waiting
- one's wife
- in the Edo period, a kind of civil servant working in Nagasaki
- the head servant
Adjective Edit
大人 • (otona) -na (adnominal 大人な (otona na), adverbial 大人に (otona ni))
Etymology 2 Edit
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 Edit
Pronunciation Edit
Noun Edit
- (honorific) a lord, a landowner
- an honorific form of reference for a scholar or teacher, or one's own father
- an honorific form of reference for the addressee
Etymology 3 Edit
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 Cantonese reading daai6 jan4, Min Nan tāi-jîn.
The kan'on reading, so likely a later borrowing.
Pronunciation Edit
Noun Edit
- a large person
- a giant
- an adult
- a person of high rank, a ruler or noble
- an honorific form of reference for a scholar or teacher, or one's own parent
- a daimyo
Synonyms Edit
Etymology 4 Edit
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 reading thai-ngìn.
The goon reading, so likely an earlier borrowing.
Pronunciation Edit
Noun Edit
- an adult, a grown-up
- (Buddhism) the Buddhas and bodhisattvas
References Edit
Korean Edit
Hanja in this term | |
---|---|
大 | 人 |
Noun Edit
Okinawan Edit
Kanji in this term | |
---|---|
大 | 人 |
うふ Grade: 1 |
っちゅ Grade: 1 |
kun’yomi |
Etymology 1 Edit
From Proto-Ryukyuan *opopito.
From 大 (ufu-, “big”) + 人 (tchu, “person”).
Pronunciation Edit
Noun Edit
大人 (ufutchu)
Etymology 2 Edit
Kanji in this term | |
---|---|
大 | 人 |
Grade: 1 | Grade: 1 |
irregular |
Cognate with Japanese 大人 (otona). Presumably a borrowing, as no other Ryukyuan cognates exist.
Pronunciation Edit
Noun Edit
大人 (utuna)
References Edit
- “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 Edit
chữ Hán in this term | |
---|---|
大 | 人 |
Noun Edit
大人