乡亲 xiāngqīn fellow countryman (from the same village)
fellow countryman (from the same village); local people; villager; the folks back home
How to remember 乡亲: 乡 country + 亲 kin = fellow countryman (from the same village).
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How it is used
- Fellow villagers / folks from one's home region - 父老乡亲 (fùlǎo xiāngqīn) the elders and folks of the hometown, a warm way to address a rural crowd.
- Carries a bond of shared roots that 老乡 (lǎoxiāng, a fellow townsperson you meet elsewhere) also has, but 乡亲 evokes the collective 'home folks'.
- Common in speeches and rural settings; affectionate register.