DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
大人
Mandarin · pinyin dà ren
Meanings
- adult
- grownup
- title of respect toward superiors
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Mandarin tones
4–5 · da4 ren5
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
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Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.Read this spelling in Classical texts
Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 7 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
daai6 jan4
Cantonese word readings for 大人. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
noun · Etymology 1
- adult; grown-up
noun · Etymology 2
- (archaic) person of high rank (such as a ruler or noble)
- (honorific) Your Excellency; His Excellency (form of address to a higher-up)
- (literary) form of address to one's parents or elder members of the family
- (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
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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