犹太人
yóutàirén
The English phrase "jew" is translated into Chinese as 犹太人 (yóutàirén).
The term refers to a member or descendant of the Jewish people.
Meaning: member or descendant of the Jewish people (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of 犹太 (Yóutài), a phonetic transliteration of "Jew" and 人 (rén), meaning "person".
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun 犹太人 can be used as a collective or individual noun and does not change form for plurality.
How do you pronounce it?
yóutàirén
Did you know?
- In Chinese, names of Western-derived groups are almost always constructed using this pattern of phonetic syllables followed by a single character to denote the category.
- The character 太 (tài) in 犹太人 is also the same character used in the word for 'too much' or 'extremely', which is a purely coincidental phonetic choice.
- Unlike in some languages where the term for 'Jew' can carry heavy historical baggage, 犹太人 is generally a neutral, descriptive term in modern Mandarin.
Examples in context
- 汤姆不是犹太人。Tom isn't a Jew.This sentence is useful for seeing how to negate the identity of a person using 犹太人.Tatoeba #8857259 by iiujik, translation #4437560 by shekitten
- 他是一位犹太人。He is a Jew.
- 她是一名犹太族的人。She is a member of the Jewish ethnic group.
- 他是一位很有名的犹太人。Tā shì yī wèi hěn yǒumíng de Yóutàirén.He is a very famous Jew.
- 很多犹太人在纽约生活。Hěnduō Yóutàirén zài Niǔyuē shēnghuó.Many Jews live in New York.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a famous scientist.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen这个科学家是犹太人吗？Zhège kēxuéjiā shì Yóutàirén ma?Is this scientist Jewish?
- 伟 Wei是的，他是犹太人。Shì de, tā shì Yóutàirén.Yes, he is Jewish.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我之前不知道这件事。Wǒ zhīqián bù zhīdào zhè jiàn shì.I didn't know that before.
- 伟 Wei我也刚看到资料。Wǒ yě gāng kàndào zīliào.I just saw the information too.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
