Definition
古人 primarily refers to people who lived in ancient times — the ancients. In literary or classical contexts it can also mean a deceased person (the departed). The archaeological sense (extinct human species) is rare in everyday Chinese; you'll most often encounter 古人 in discussions of history, philosophy, and traditional wisdom.
noun
ancient peoplethe ancients
Easily confused
- 后人hòu rénlook-alikelater generations; posterity
Examples
- 古人，。gǔ rén rènwéi tiān yuán dì fāng, dàn wǒmen xiànzài zhīdào dìqiú shì yuán de.The ancients believed the sky was round and the earth was square, but we now know the earth is round.
- 古人。Zhèxiē chūtǔ wénwù fǎnyìng le gǔ rén de shēnghuó fāngshì.These unearthed artifacts reflect the way of life of ancient people.
- 古人，。Wǒmen yīnggāi xuéxí gǔ rén de zhìhuì, dàn yě yào jiéhé xiàndài kēxué.We should learn from the wisdom of the ancients, but also combine it with modern science.
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