Tell me more ×
Chinese Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Chinese language. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 5 down vote favorite

What is the difference between 人民 and 民族, for example in 中华人民 vs. 中华民族?

share|improve this question
1  
I think there is no word of "中华人民", you may want to say "中国人民" (the Chinese People). The formal official name of China is "the People's Republic of China", in Chinese "中华人民共和国", but that's another story, because here 中华 and 人民 are two words. – Huang Feb 10 '12 at 8:35

2 Answers

up vote 9 down vote accepted

人民 is translated as "(the) people". You can find it in popular expressions like:

  • 人民共和国 = People's Republic; as Huang said in the comments, if we include China it becomes "中华人民共和国"
  • 人民币 = Renminbi (the Chinese currency. 币 means "money, coins, currency".)
  • 人民日报 = "People's Daily" (a newspaper)

民族 means "ethnic group, nationality", for example:

中央民族大学 Central University for Nationalities

All of the examples have been taken from the CEDICT dictionary.

share|improve this answer
I think the word "people" can mean "race" and in this case, it's countable noun and means "民族". – Huang Feb 11 '12 at 3:49
More than that. 人民 is in fact a political term. It's a subset of citizen, excludes the ones who's political right has been deprived, and the so called 敌对分子(hostile). – Fivesheep Mar 14 '12 at 10:05
up vote 2 down vote

The first means "people" as in citizens or nationals and the second means "ethnic group".

share|improve this answer
Would you mind on expanding your answer? – Alenanno♦ Feb 10 '12 at 9:40
Welcome to the site. Good answer, and an upvote to get you going. – Tom Au Feb 10 '12 at 14:04

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.