老百姓 lǎobǎixìng ordinary people
ordinary people; the "person in the street"
How to remember 老百姓: 老 old + 百 hundred + 姓 surname = ordinary people.
Characters
How it is used
- Ordinary people, common folk - set against officials or the powerful: 老百姓的日子 (lǎobǎixìng de rìzi) the lives of ordinary people.
- Carries a down-to-earth, sometimes we-the-people flavor; frequent in news and speeches about livelihood.
- Roughly 'the man on the street'; more colloquial and warmer than 公民 (gōngmín, citizen) or 群众 (qúnzhòng, the masses).