commoner; uneducated person
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 5 examplesnoun
commoner; uneducated person without official rank
literaryOriginally refers to common people without imperial examination degrees in feudal China, now often used in literary contexts to describe uneducated or non-elite individuals.
Tán谈
xiào笑
yǒu有
hóng鸿
rú儒
，
wǎng往
lái来
wú无
bái白
dīng丁
。
Those I chat with are learned scholars, and none of my visitors are uneducated commoners.
Zhè这
jiā家
chá茶
guǎn馆
lǐ里
lái来
wǎng往
de的
dōu都
shì是
bái白
dīng丁
，
méi没
yǒu有
shén什
me么
dá达
guān官
guì贵
rén人
。
All who come and go at this tea house are common folks, no wealthy or high-ranking officials here.
Show 3 more examplesShow fewer examples
Tā他
suī虽
rán然
zhǐ只
shì是
gè个
bái白
dīng丁
，
què却
yǒu有
zhe着
chāo超
yuè越
cháng常
rén人
de的
jiàn见
shí识
。
Although he is just an ordinary commoner, he has insights beyond most people.
Gǔ古
dài代
kē科
jǔ举
kǎo考
shì试
luò落
bǎng榜
hòu后
jiù就
zhǐ只
néng能
zuò做
bái白
dīng丁
，
wú无
fǎ法
jìn进
rù入
shì仕
tú途
。
After failing the imperial civil service exam in ancient China, one could only remain a commoner and could not enter officialdom.
Zhè这
shǒu首
shī诗
miáo描
xiě写
le了
xiāng乡
yě野
bái白
dīng丁
de的
yōu悠
xián闲
shēng生
huó活
。
This poem describes the leisurely life of rural commoners.