citizen

The word “citizen” means a legally recognised member of a country, with rights such as voting and a passport, and duties such as paying taxes. In plain terms, a legal member of a country or resident of a city, or simply an ordinary member of the public.

“Citizen” is pronounced SIH-tih-zuhn (/ˈsɪtɪzən/ in IPA).

Here is “citizen” used in a sentence: “She became a French citizen after living there for ten years.”

Words with a similar meaning to “citizen” include burgess, burgher, denizen, townsman and townswoman.

The opposite of “citizen” — its antonyms — are countryfolk, country gentleman, countryman, peasant and villager.

“Citizen” is a noun.

The word “citizen” comes from Latin. From Anglo-Norman citesain, from Old French cite ("city") plus a suffix meaning "one who belongs to" — ultimately from Latin civitas.

“Citizen” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

A citizen is a legally recognised member of a country, with full rights such as voting and a passport, and duties such as paying taxes. A resident simply lives in a country, which may be temporary and without those political rights. You can be a resident of a nation without being its citizen.

The terms overlap but are not identical. A citizen holds full membership and rights, including voting. A national owes allegiance to a country and holds its passport, but may lack some rights a citizen has, depending on the country's laws. Every citizen is a national, though not always the reverse.

Rights typically include voting, holding a passport, standing for office, and receiving state protection and services. Duties often include paying taxes, obeying the law, and sometimes jury service or national service. The exact balance varies by country, but citizenship always pairs entitlements with responsibilities.

People usually become citizens by birth, either by being born in a country or to citizen parents. Others gain citizenship through naturalisation, a legal process that generally requires a period of residence, good character, and sometimes a language or civics test. Marriage and descent can also open paths to citizenship.