大人

大人

1. adult; grown-up

   萬聖節裝扮不是大人的專利，那些拍門討糖果的小孩裝扮也可以十分出色！ [MSC, trad.]
   万圣节装扮不是大人的专利，那些拍门讨糖果的小孩装扮也可以十分出色！ [MSC, simp.]

   Wànshèngjié zhuāngbàn bùshì dàrén de zhuānlì, nàxiē pāi mén tǎo tángguǒ de xiǎohái zhuāngbàn yě kěyǐ shífēn chūsè! [Pinyin]

   Halloween costumes are not just for adults - the costumes of children who ask for candy can also be extraordinary!

   轉大人／转大人 [Hokkien]  ―  tńg tāi-jîn [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  to grow up into an adult

address towards Japanese officials; "police officer"

Borrowed from Japanese 大人 (taijin), from Chinese 大人 (dàrén).

大人

1. (archaic) person of high rank (such as a ruler or noble)

   Antonym: 小人 (xiǎorén)

   • 孟子曰：「說大人，則藐之，勿視其巍巍然。……」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     孟子曰：「说大人，则藐之，勿视其巍巍然。……」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

     Mèngzǐ yuē: “Shuō dàrén, zé miǎo zhī, wù shì qí wēiwēi rán.......” [Pinyin]

     Mencius said, "When one counsels a powerful man one must view him as very small and ignore his grandeur. [...]"

   • 故兼者聖王之道也，王公大人之所以安也，萬民衣食之所以足也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     故兼者圣王之道也，王公大人之所以安也，万民衣食之所以足也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Mozi, c. 4^th century BCE, translated based on Y. P. Mei's version

     Gù jiān zhě shèngwáng zhī dào yě, wánggōngdàrén zhī suǒyǐ ān yě, wànmín yīshí zhī suǒyǐ zú yě. [Pinyin]

     Therefore, inclusivity is really the way of the sage-kings. It is what gives peace to the kings, nobles, and magnates and sustenance to the people.

2. (honorific) Your Excellency; His Excellency (form of address to a higher-up)

   Synonym: 閣下／阁下 (géxià)

   法官大人  ―  fǎguān dàrén  ―  Your Honour

3. (historical, Taiwanese Hokkien and Japanese-occupied Shantou Teochew) An address used by ordinary citizens to address Japanese occupation officials: sir
4. (Taiwanese Hokkien, dated or regional) police officer
5. (Xiamen and Quanzhou Hokkien, religion) paper person, used as a scapegoat

• (police officer):

• 陈业建 (2015 December 20) “抗战时期潮人的特殊口语”, in 汕头特区晚报‎
• “Entry #221”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2023.

Appears in sources from the Heian period. Derivation unknown.

• 乙名 (only for the "leader" senses)

• (Tokyo) おとな [òtóná] (Heiban – [0])[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [o̞to̞na̠]

大人(おとな) • (otona) 

1. an adult, a grown-up

   大人(おとな)（へ）の階(かい)段(だん)をのぼる

   otona (e) no kaidan o noboru

   to ascend the staircase of (/towards) [being an] adult: to mature

   • 2010 December 8, Hideaki Sorachi, “第(だい)三(さん)百(びゃく)二(に)十(じゅう)二(に)訓(くん)　二(に)度(ど)あることは三(さん)度(ど)ある [Lesson 322: Twice, Thrice That There Are]”, in 銀(ぎん)魂(たま) ([[銀(ぎん)魂(たま)|銀(ぎん)魂(たま)]]) [Silver Soul], volume 37 (fiction), Tokyo: Shueisha, →ISBN:

     まずはこのローションをかぶってだな

     Mazu wa kono rōshon o kabutte da na

     First we slap on some lotion

     ちょっと待(ま)てぇぇぇ‼　それどこの大人(おとな)のプールぅ⁉

     Chotto mateeee‼ Sore doko no otona no pūrū⁉

     Hold o-o-o-on!! Are you tryna turn this place into an adult pool!?

2. (uncommon, possibly archaic) a leader:
   1. an elder of a group or community
   2. in the late Muromachi period, the representative of a village or guild
   3. the head lady-in-waiting
   4. one's wife
   5. in the Edo period, a kind of civil servant working in Nagasaki
   6. the head servant

大人(おとな) • (otona) -na (adnominal 大人(おとな)な (otona na), adverbial 大人(おとな)に (otona ni))

1. mature; grown-up

   大人(おとな)な感(かん)じのお店(みせ)

   otona na kanji no o-mise

   shop that has a mature atmosphere

   大人(おとな)な対(たい)応(おう)

   otona na taiō

   mature response to the situation

2. adult; sexual

From Old Japanese.[3] Appears in the Nihon Shoki, completed in 720 CE. Derivation unknown.

• 卿

• (Tokyo) う​し [úꜜshì] (Atamadaka – [1])[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [ɯ̟ᵝɕi]

大人(うし) • (ushi) 

1. (honorific) a lord, a landowner
2. an honorific form of reference for a scholar or teacher, or one's own father
3. an honorific form of reference for the addressee

From Middle Chinese 大人 (dɑi^H ȵʑjen, literally “big, great + person”). Compare modern Cantonese reading daai⁶ jan⁴, Hokkien tāi-jîn.

The kan'on reading, so likely a later borrowing.

• (Tokyo) たいじん [tàíjíń] (Heiban – [0])[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [ta̠iʑĩɴ]

大(たい)人(じん) • (taijin) 

1. a large person
2. a giant
3. an adult
4. a person of high rank, a ruler or noble
5. an honorific form of reference for a scholar or teacher, or one's own parent
6. a daimyo

From Middle Chinese 大人 (dɑi^H ȵiɪn, literally “big, great + person”). Compare modern Hakka reading thai-ngìn.

The goon reading, so likely an earlier borrowing.

• (Tokyo) だいにん [dàíníń] (Heiban – [0])[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [da̠iɲ̟ĩɴ]

大(だい)人(にん) • (dainin) 

1. an adult, a grown-up
2. (Buddhism) the Buddhas and bodhisattvas

大人 • (daein) (hangeul 대인)

1. Hanja form^? of 대인 (“adult”).

From Proto-Ryukyuan *opopito.

From 大 (ufu-, “big”) +‎ 人 (tchu, “person”).

• IPA^(key): /ʔuɸutt͡ɕu/

大(うふ)人(っちゅ) (ufutchu) 

1. adult

Cognate with Japanese 大人 (otona). Presumably a borrowing, as no other Ryukyuan cognates exist.

• IPA^(key): /ʔutuna/

大人(うとぅな) (utuna) 

1. (literary) adult

• “うふっちゅ【大人】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.
• “ウフッチュ” in Okinawa Center of Language Study, Shuri-Naha Dialect Dictionary (archived; reopens 2024).^{(permanent dead link)}
• “ウトゥナ” in Okinawa Center of Language Study, Shuri-Naha Dialect Dictionary (archived; reopens 2024).^{(permanent dead link)}

大人

1. chữ Hán form of đại nhân (“noble man”).