noun
Archaic term used in historical contexts to refer to people from China or Korea. The specific meaning depends on the kanji used: 唐人 for Chinese, 韓人 for Korean, and 漢人 also for Chinese. In modern Japanese, 中国人 and 韓国人 are used instead.
昔、日本に渡ってきた唐人や韓人は、からびとと呼ばれた。
Long ago, Chinese and Korean people who came to Japan were called karabito.
From 唐 (kara, an old name for China/Korea) + 人 (hito, person), with rendaku voicing to びと. The kanji 唐 originally referred to Tang China but later broadened to mean foreign lands, especially China and Korea.