詩人 / 诗人
shīrén
The English phrase 'bard' can be translated into Chinese as 詩人 / 诗人 (shīrén). If unsure, use 詩人 / 诗人. Wiktionary also lists 吟遊詩人 / 吟游诗人 (yínyóu shīrén).
Meaning: professional poet and singer (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 詩人 / 诗人 | shīrén |
| 吟遊詩人 / 吟游诗人 | yínyóu shīrén |
In a literary or historical context, 吟遊詩人 / 吟游诗人 is the appropriate term used to translate the Western concept of a bard or minstrel who travels and performs.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 吟遊詩人 / 吟游诗人 is composed of 吟 (to chant/recite), 遊 (to wander/travel) and 詩人 (poet).
Which one should you use?
The term 詩人 / 诗人 is the general word for any poet, whereas 吟遊詩人 / 吟游诗人 specifically refers to a wandering or traveling bard/minstrel.
How do you pronounce it?
shīrén
Did you know?
- Chinese doesn't have a native historical equivalent to the wandering European minstrel. The term 吟遊詩人 is a 'calque', a loan translation created specifically to describe the foreign concept of a bard.
- While 吟遊詩人 describes a Western bard, traditional Chinese culture had the 詩人 as a high-ranking scholar-official. In ancient China, poetry was a requirement for civil service exams to enter the government bureaucracy.
- The character 詩 used in 詩人 is a pictograph that originally depicted a mouth and a dance. This suggests that in early Chinese history, poetry was inextricably linked to oral performance and choreography.
Examples in context
- 这个 吟游者 走遍山川，将美丽的诗歌带给了无数人们。（ Zhège yínyóu zhě zǒubiàn shānchuān, jiāng měilì de shīgē dàigěile wúshù rénmen. ）This wandering poet has traveled through mountains and rivers, bringing beautiful poetry to countless people.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bard” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
