Chinese word

同人

Pronunciation

Pinyintóng rén

Meaning

  • nounfan-made publication

Example

他在展会上卖了自己的同人。tā zài zhǎn huì shàng mài le zì jǐ de tóng rén

He sold his own fan-made publication at the exhibition.

Illustration for 同人 (fan-made publication)

More examples

她的同人作品在网络上很受欢迎。tā de tóng rén zuò pǐn zài wǎng luò shàng hěn shòu huān yíng

Her fan-made publication is very popular online.

Core concept

A fan's personal offshoot of a known story or character, viewed as the maker's contribution or as the work shared in a small circle.

Common phrases

  • 同人作品tóng rén zuò pǐn

    fan-made publication

  • 同人创作tóng rén chuàng zuò

    fan-made creation

  • 同人圈tóng rén quān

    fan circle

Similar words

书shū: A bound collection of writing or pictures that forms one readable volume.
杂志zá zhì: A publication released regularly with articles, pictures, or other features.
作品zuò pǐn: A piece of art or other creative work, such as a story, song, painting, or film.

Definition in Chinese

指粉丝或爱好者为表达对原作而自行创作，并以自费或小批量形式出版、印发在活动或网上流通的刊物或作品，常见为漫画、小说与同人画集等。zhǐ fěn sī huò ài hào zhě wèi biǎo dá duì yuán zuò ér zì xíng chuàng zuò bìng yǐ zì fèi huò xiǎo pī liàng xíng shì chū bǎn yìn fā zài huó dòng huò wǎng shàng liú tōng de kān wù huò zuò pǐn cháng jiàn wèi màn huà xiǎo shuō yǔ tóng rén huà jí děng

Word origin

同人 (tóngrén, "people with a shared aim") began as a term for like-minded people and acquired its modern fandom meaning through Japanese usage for independently produced fan publications.

Usage tips

  • English often makes "amateur" sound like a judgment about skill, but this Chinese term identifies a fan connection rather than rating the quality of the creator's work.

Other meanings

  • fan creatornoun
  • fan worknoun

Opposites

  • 官方出版guān fāng chū bǎnofficial publicationnoun
  • 正规出版zhèng guī chū bǎnformal publicationnoun

Related words

  • 同人作家tóng rén zuò jiāfan creatornoun
  • 同人文化tóng rén wén huàfan culturenoun

Word lists with this word