洋人

yángrén

noun #49,400

Meanings

1 foreigner (especially a Westerner)
2 Westerner

Characters

ocean/foreign (overseas)

Examples

这条街以前常有洋人路过。

Zhè tiáo jiē yǐqián cháng yǒu yángrén lùguò.

Westerners often used to pass through this street.

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.'

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.

Tips

register

Old-fashioned and dated — carries 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