Chinese

Noun

人事

1. men's behaviours; the reach of one's ability; what is humanly possible
   • 孟子曰：「富歲，子弟多賴；凶歲，子弟多暴，非天之降才爾殊也，其所以陷溺其心者然也。今夫麰麥，播種而耰之，其地同，樹之時又同，浡然而生，至於日至之時，皆熟矣。雖有不同，則地有肥磽，雨露之養，人事之不齊也。故凡同類者，舉相似也，何獨至於人而疑之？聖人與我同類者。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     孟子曰：“富岁，子弟多赖；凶岁，子弟多暴，非天之降才尔殊也，其所以陷溺其心者然也。今夫麰麦，播种而耰之，其地同，树之时又同，浡然而生，至于日至之时，皆熟矣。虽有不同，则地有肥硗，雨露之养，人事之不齐也。故凡同类者，举相似也，何独至于人而疑之？圣人与我同类者。” [Classical Chinese, simp.]
     From: Mengzi (Mencius), circa 4th century BCE

     Mèngzǐ yuē: "fùsuì, zǐdì duō lài; xiōngsuì, zǐdì duō bào, fēi tiān zhī jiàng cái ěr shū yě, qí suǒ yǐ xiànnì qí xīn zhě rán yě. Jīn fú móumài, bōzhǒng ér yōu zhī, qí dì tóng, shù zhī shí yòu tóng, bó rán ér shēng, zhì yú rì zhì zhī shí, jiē shú yǐ. Suī yǒu bù tóng, zé dì yǒu féiqiǎo, yǔlù zhī yǎng, rénshì zhī bù qí yě. Gù fán tóng lèi zhě, jǔ xiāngsì yě, hé dú zhì yú rén ér yí zhī? Shèngrén yǔ wǒ tónglèi zhě." [Pinyin]

     Mencius said, "In good years the children of the people are most of them good, while in bad years the most of them abandon themselves to evil. It is not owing to any difference of their natural powers conferred by Heaven that they are thus different. The abandonment is owing to the circumstances through which they allow their minds to be ensnared and drowned in evil. There now is barley. Let it be sown and covered up; the ground being the same, and the time of sowing likewise the same, it grows rapidly up, and, when the full time is come, it is all found to be ripe. Although there may be inequalities of produce, that is owing to the difference of the soil, as rich or poor, to the unequal nourishment afforded by the rains and dews, and to the different ways in which man has performed his business in reference to it. Thus all things which are the same in kind are like to one another; why should we doubt in regard to man, as if he were a solitary exception to this? The sage and we are the same in kind."

   我已盡人事。 / 我已尽人事。  ―  Wǒ yǐ jìn rénshì.  ―  I've done what is humanly possible.

2. human affairs; ways of the world; facts of life
   • 前事之不忘，後事之師。是以君子為國，觀之上古，驗之當世，參以人事，察盛衰之理，審權勢之宜，去就有序，變化應時，故曠日長久，而社稷安矣。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     前事之不忘，后事之师。是以君子为国，观之上古，验之当世，参以人事，察盛衰之理，审权势之宜，去就有序，变化应时，故旷日长久，而社稷安矣。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
     From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, circa 91 BCE

     Qián shì zhī bù wàng, hòu shì zhī shī. Shì yǐ jūnzǐ wèi guó, guān zhī shànggǔ, yàn zhī dāngshì, cān yǐ rénshì, chá shèngshuāi zhī lǐ, shěn quánshì zhī yí, qù jiù yǒu xù, biànhuà yìngshí, gù kuàngrìchángjiǔ, ér shèjì ān yǐ. [Pinyin]

     Do not forget the experiences and lessons learned from the past for they shall serve as a reference for future undertakings. A ruler will study history and verify the lessons in human affairs within a contemporary context to understand the rise and decline of a nation. They will also contemplate the balance of power and its corresponding scenarios, orderly weighing which ones to reject and which ones to adopt. Based on these considerations they will develop appropriate policies that over time will bring lasting peace to the nation.

   孩子太小，還不懂人事。 [MSC, trad.]

   孩子太小，还不懂人事。 [MSC, simp.]

   Háizi tài xiǎo, hái bù dǒng rénshì. [Pinyin]

   The child is too young to know the ways of the world.

3. consciousness of the (outside) world

   他昏迷過去，人事不知。 [MSC, trad.]

   他昏迷过去，人事不知。 [MSC, simp.]

   Tā hūnmí guòqù, rénshì bùzhī. [Pinyin]

   He fainted and lost consciousness.

4. personnel matters; human resources

   人事調動 / 人事调动  ―  rénshì diàodòng  ―  transfer of personnel

5. social activity; social intercourse

   不務學業，競於人事。 [MSC, trad.]

   不务学业，竞于人事。 [MSC, simp.]

   Bù wù xuéyè, jìng yú rénshì. [Pinyin]

   [He] focuses on the social intercourses and not his study.

   盡量處理好人事關係。 [MSC, trad.]

   尽量处理好人事关系。 [MSC, simp.]

   Jìnliàng chǔlǐ hǎo rénshì guānxì. [Pinyin]

   To handle interpersonal relationships to the best of one's ability

6. (dialectal) gift; present
7. man-caused turmoil; unrest
8. sexual awareness; sexual passion

   年紀漸長，已曉人事。 [MSC, trad.]

   年纪渐长，已晓人事。 [MSC, simp.]

   Niánjì jiàn zhǎng, yǐ xiǎo rénshì. [Pinyin]

   [He] gradually gains sexual awareness as his age grows.

Derived terms

Descendants

Japanese

Noun

人事 ‎(hiragana じんじ, romaji jinji)

1. human affairs
2. personnel affairs/matters
3. human resources, HR

Noun

人事 ‎(hiragana ひとごと, romaji hitogoto)

1. other people's affairs; somebody else's problem

Korean

Noun

人事 • ‎(insa) ‎(hangeul 인사)

1. Hanja form^? of 인사, “greeting; personnel matters[affairs], human resources affairs”.