唐人

From 唐朝 (Tángcháo, “Tang Dynasty”), an ancient imperial Chinese dynasty that existed between 618–907 and is usually considered one of the more prosperous periods in Chinese history.

唐人

1. someone from the Tang Dynasty
2. (by extension) Chinese people in general; person of Chinese descent

   • 唐人之為水手者，利其國中不著衣裳，且米糧易求，婦女易得，屋室易辦，器用易足，買賣易為，往往皆逃逸于彼。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     唐人之为水手者，利其国中不著衣裳，且米粮易求，妇女易得，屋室易办，器用易足，买卖易为，往往皆逃逸于彼。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: c. 1300, 周達觀 (Zhou Daguan), 真臘風土記 (The Customs of Cambodia)

     Tángrén zhī wéi shuǐshǒu zhě, lì qí guózhōng bù zhù yīshang, qiě mǐliáng yì qiú, fùnǚ yì dé, wūshì yì bàn, qìyòng yì zú, mǎimài yì wèi, wǎngwǎng jiē táoyì yú bǐ. [Pinyin]

     Chinese sailors do well by the fact that in this country you can go without clothes, food is easy to come by, women are easy to get, housing is easy to deal with, it is easy to make do with a few utensils, and it is easy to do trade. They often run away here. (Adapted from translation by Peter Harris)

   • 1841, Elijah Coleman Bridgman, Chinese Chrestomathy in the Canton Dialect, Macao: S.W. Williams, page 181:

     唐人有𢬿牛乳共糖嚟攪茶有冇呢 [Cantonese, trad.]
     唐人有𢬿牛乳共糖嚟搅茶有冇呢 [Cantonese, simp.]

     tong⁴ jan⁴ jau⁵ kaai⁵ ngau⁴ jyu⁵ gung⁶ tong⁴ lai⁴ gaau² caa⁴ jau⁵ mou⁵ ne¹ [Jyutping]

     Do the Chinese use milk and sugar with their tea?

   • 1898, John Macgowan, A Manual of the Amoy Colloquial, 4th edition, Amoy: Chui Keng Tong, page 150:

     問唐人之衫有做袋仔否
     答本然俱無今近來較有 [Hokkien, trad.]
     问唐人之衫有做袋仔否
     答本然俱无今近来较有 [Hokkien, simp.]

     - Tn̂g-lâng ê saⁿ ū chòe tē-á bô
     - Pún-jiân lóng bô taⁿ kūn-lâi khah ū [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]

     Q. Do the Chinese have pockets in their clothes?
     A. Originally they had not, but lately they are more common.

唐 (táng, “(Internet slang, derogatory) stupid; absurd; idiotic; retarded”) +‎ 人 (rén, “person”). Possibly pun on Etymology 1 or 唐人街 (tángrénjiē, “Chinatown”).

唐人

1. (Internet slang, derogatory) fool; absurdity; idiot; retard
   • 2025 September 15, ““唐人”成烂梗，疾病岂能当笑料 ["唐人" Has Become Poor Meme, How Could Disease be Used as Laughing Stock?]”, in 绵阳新闻网 [Mianyang News Network]‎^[1]:

     提到“唐人”，你会想到什么？是盛唐的万千气象？还是海外著名的唐人街？然而近日，在重庆某中学，这个词却以一种令人心痛的方式被使用——一名初中班主任发现班上有学生用“唐人”一词嘲笑同学，上网搜索后，才知道这个词是嘲讽他人有“唐氏综合征”。她没有放任不管，而是把这个词的含义掰开了、揉碎了，讲给孩子们听。 [MSC, simp.]
     提到“唐人”，你會想到什麼？是盛唐的萬千氣象？還是海外著名的唐人街？然而近日，在重慶某中學，這個詞卻以一種令人心痛的方式被使用——一名初中班主任發現班上有學生用“唐人”一詞嘲笑同學，上網搜索後，才知道這個詞是嘲諷他人有“唐氏綜合徵”。她沒有放任不管，而是把這個詞的含義掰開了、揉碎了，講給孩子們聽。 [MSC, trad.]

     Tídào “tángrén”, nǐ huì xiǎngdào shénme? Shì shèngtáng de wànqiān qìxiàng? Háishì hǎiwài zhùmíng de tángrénjiē? Rán'ér jìnrì, zài Zhòngqìng mǒu zhōngxué, zhège cí què yǐ yīzhǒng lìngrén xīntòng de fāngshì bèi shǐyòng — yīmíng chūzhōng bānzhǔrèn fāxiàn bān shàng yǒu xuéshēng yòng “tángrén” yī cí cháoxiào tóngxué, shàngwǎng sōusuǒ hòu, cái zhīdào zhège cí shì cháofěng tārén yǒu “Tángshìzōnghézhēng”. Tā méiyǒu fàngrèn bùguǎn, érshì bǎ zhège cí de hányì bāikāi le, róusuì le, jiǎng gěi háizǐ men tīng. [Pinyin]

     When you hear the term "唐人," what comes to mind? The majestic aura of the Tang Dynasty? Or the famous Chinatowns overseas? Recently, however, this term was used in a heartbreaking way at a middle school in Chongqing—a homeroom teacher discovered that some students were using "唐人" to mock a classmate. After searching online, she learned that the term was being used to ridicule someone for having Down syndrome^{[sic – meaning 唐氏综合症/唐氏綜合症]}. She did not let it slide. Instead, she carefully explained the meaning of the word, breaking it down piece by piece, and shared it with the children.

• (Tokyo) とーじん [tòójíń] (Heiban – [0])^[1]
• (Tokyo) とーじん [tòójíꜜǹ] (Nakadaka – [3])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [to̞ːʑĩɴ]

唐(とう)人(じん) • (tōjin) ^{←たうじん (tauzin)?}

1. a Chinese person
2. a foreigner

• 唐人稗(トウジンビエ) (tōjinbie)

唐(から) (kara-, “China”) + 人(ひと) (hito, “person”). The hito changes to bito as an instance of rendaku (連(れん)濁(だく)).

• IPA^(key): [ka̠ɾa̠bʲito̞]

唐(から)人(びと) • (karabito) 

1. a Chinese person

• “唐人”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[2] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026