祖 zǔ
- Strokes
- 9
- Radical
- 礻 — spirit
- Made of
- 礻 spirit 且 moreover, also (post-subject)
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
祖先
zǔxiān
ancestors
Characters in this word
先 xiān
- Strokes
- 6
- Radical
- 儿 — son, child
- Made of
- 𠂒 small 儿 son, child
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
Example phrases
- 许多传统节日都与纪念祖先有关。 Xǔduō chuántǒng jiérì dōu yǔ jìniàn zǔxiān yǒuguān. Many traditional festivals are connected with honouring ancestors.
- 祖先留下了很多宝贵的经验。 Zǔxiān liúxià le hěn duō bǎoguì de jīngyàn. Our ancestors left behind a great deal of valuable experience.
- 考古学家发现了祖先生活过的古老村庄。 Kǎogǔxuéjiā fāxiàn le zǔxiān shēnghuó guò de gǔlǎo cūnzhuāng. Archaeologists discovered an ancient village where their ancestors had lived.
Related words
- 祖国 zǔguó motherland
- 祖传 zǔchuán handed down from ancestors; hereditary
- 祖父 zǔfù paternal grandfather; grandfather
- 祖籍 zǔjí ancestral home; place of origin
- 祖母 zǔmǔ grandmother; paternal grandmother
- 祖宗 zǔzong ancestors; forebears
- 先 xiān first, before
- 先生 xiānsheng Mr., sir; gentleman
- 领先 lǐngxiān to lead; to be ahead
- 首先 shǒuxiān first; first of all
- 先进 xiānjìn advanced
- 事先 shìxiān in advance