Definition
乡里 has two main uses: it refers to one's home village or rural hometown (地点), and it also refers collectively to fellow villagers or townspeople (人). In traditional usage it could also mean 'my wife' (from the idea of the woman of the household), but this sense is archaic. The word is more common in rural or nostalgic contexts than in modern city life.
n.
home villageone's native rural hometownfellow villager(s)people from the same village/town
Examples
- 乡里，。Tā líkāi xiāng lǐ yǐjīng sānshí nián le, dàn háishì hěn huáiniàn nàlǐ de shēnghuó.He left his home village thirty years ago, but he still misses life there.
- 乡里，。Zài chéng lǐ yùdào xiāng lǐ, zǒng juéde géwài qīnqiè.When you run into a fellow villager in the city, you always feel especially close.
- 乡里，。Zhè wèi lǎorén yíbèizi dōu méi chūguo xiāng lǐ, duì cūn wài de shì liǎojiě hěn shǎo.This old man never left his home village his whole life; he knows little about what's outside the village.
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