洋人

yángrén

noun #49,400

Meanings

1 foreigner (especially a Westerner)
2 Westerner

Characters

ocean/foreign (overseas)

Examples

HSK 2

他从小就在洋人公司里工作。

Tā cóngxiǎo jiù zài yángrén gōngsī lǐ gōngzuò.

He's worked at foreign companies since he was young.

HSK 4

这条街以前常有洋人路过。

Zhè tiáo jiē yǐqián chángyǒu yángrén lùguò.

Westerners often used to pass through this street.

HSK 7-9

爷爷那一辈管外国人叫洋人。

Yéye nà yí bèi guǎn wàiguórén jiào yángrén.

Grandpa's generation called foreigners 'yangren.'

Tips

register

Old-fashioned and dated, carrying colonial-era baggage. The neutral modern word is 外国人. 洋人 still appears in historical contexts, novels, and older speakers' speech; used today it can sound quaint, mocking, or faintly pejorative depending on tone.

Stroke Order

洋 yáng

人 rén