Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 成人 | chéngrén |
| 大人 | dàrén |
| 成年 | chéngnián |
成人 is a neutral and widely used term for a fully grown human. If you need to specify someone who has reached the legal age of adulthood, you can use 成年人. For someone in the prime of their life, typically between 30 to 50 years old, the term 壮年 is used.
Which one should you use?
成人 is used for formal contexts, such as official documents, legal statuses or commercial terms like 'adult tickets'. 大人 is used in colloquial speech, often to distinguish grown-ups from children. 成年 functions as a verb or adjective to describe the process of maturing or the state of reaching the age of majority.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
chéngrén
When do people say it?
In historical contexts, 大人 was a respectful way to address high-ranking officials, though this usage is not found in modern daily conversation.
Did you know?
- In traditional Chinese culture, the concept of adulthood was often marked by a specific 'capping ceremony' or 'hair-pinning ceremony' rather than just a birthday.
- The character 成 in 成人 carries the meaning of 'completing' or 'finishing', suggesting that adulthood is a state of completion.
- The term 大人 can be used in Japanese to refer specifically to a 'police officer'.
Examples in context
- 请给我两张到伦敦的成人票，三张儿童票。Two adult tickets and three children's tickets to London, please.This sentence shows how to use 成人 for commercial purposes like purchasing tickets.Tatoeba #4265060 by notabene, translation #2852917 by CK
- 如果一個人在成人前沒有機會習得目標語言，他對該語言的認識達到母語者程度的機會是相當小的。If a person has not had a chance to acquire his target language by the time he's an adult, he's unlikely to be able to reach native speaker level in that language.This sentence uses 成人 to describe the developmental period of a person.Tatoeba #1205914 by cienias, translation #1230633 by alec
- 你是一個大人.You are an adult.This sentence demonstrates the use of 大人 to identify a person as a grown-up.Tatoeba #3986766 by robbieheslop, translation #10555789 by DaoSeng
- 他是一个成人He is an adult.
- 她是个成年人了She has become an adult.
- 他是壮年，充满了活力He is in his prime and full of vitality.
- 他已经是一个成人了。He is already an adult.
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing entrance requirements for an exhibition.
- 浩然 Haoran这个展会的门票是针对成人的吗？Zhège zhǎnhuì de ménpiào shì zhēnduì chéngrén de ma?Are the tickets for this exhibition for adults?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen是的，成人票比儿童票贵一点。Shì de, chéngrén piào bǐ értóng piào guì yīdiǎn.Yes, adult tickets are a bit more expensive than children's tickets.
- 浩然 Haoran那我需要提前买好成人票吗？Nà wǒ xūyào tíqián mǎihǎo chéngrén piào ma?Then do I need to buy adult tickets in advance?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen不需要，现场也可以买。Bù xūyào, xiànchǎng yě kěyǐ mǎi.No need, you can buy them at the venue too.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “adult” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 大人, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
