色目人

Chinese

		kind and name; Semu, a caste established in China under the Yuan Dynasty	man; person; people
simp. and trad. (色目人)		色目	人

Etymology

Contrary to popular belief, the term "Semu" (interpreted literally as "color-eye") did not imply that caste members had "colored eyes" in contrast with brown-eyed Mongol Yuan people. It in fact meant "assorted categories" (各色名目, gè sè míng mù), emphasizing the ethnic diversity of Semu people.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): Sèmùrén

  (Zhuyin): ㄙㄜˋ ㄇㄨˋ ㄖㄣˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sik¹ muk⁶ jan⁴

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: Sèmùrén
    • Zhuyin: ㄙㄜˋ ㄇㄨˋ ㄖㄣˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: Sèmùrén
    • Wade–Giles: Sê⁴-mu⁴-jên²
    • Yale: Sè-mù-rén
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Sehmuhren
    • Palladius: Сэмужэнь (Sɛmužɛnʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɤ⁵¹⁻⁵³ mu⁵¹ ʐən³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: sik¹ muk⁶ jan⁴
    • Yale: sīk muhk yàhn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sik⁷ muk⁹ jan⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: xig¹ mug⁶ yen⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɪk̚⁵ mʊk̚² jɐn²¹/

Proper noun

色目人

1. Semu, a caste established in China under the Yuan Dynasty