用人
yòngrén · HSK 7
employ people
🧑💼 用人 = use (用) + person (人) = put people to work, employ staff
用 means use/employ and 人 means person, so 用人 literally reads as using people. It covers hiring and assigning staff, as in a boss who is good at 用人 knowing how to deploy the right worker for each job.
用 — pictograph of a bucket or wooden pail
用 originally depicted a bucket or container, possibly a sacrificial vessel made of wood. Over time it was borrowed to mean 'to use' or 'employ,' losing its concrete object sense. The modern meaning 'use' has been standard since early classical Chinese.
人 — pictograph of a standing person
人 is a pictograph showing a person viewed from the side, with two strokes representing the legs and torso of a standing human. In oracle bone script it clearly depicted a figure leaning slightly forward. The meaning has remained 'person' or 'human' throughout its history.