人质

人質

rénzhì

noun HSK 7-9 #2,396

Measure Word

一个人质 gè

Meanings

1 hostage

Characters

substance; pledge

Literally 'person pledge' — a person held as a guarantee

Examples

绑匪释放了所有人质。

Bǎngfěi shìfàng le suǒyǒurén zhì.

The kidnappers released all the hostages.

警方正在和劫匪谈判，争取救出人质。

Jǐngfāng zhèngzài hé jiéfěi tánpàn, zhēngqǔ jiù chū rénzhì.

The police are negotiating with the robbers, trying to rescue the hostages.

Tips

memory

Think of 人 (person) + 质 (pledge/collateral) — a person used as collateral.

Stroke Order

人 rén

质 zhì