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土着 (tǔ zhù) — aboriginal (original inhabitants of a region)

Definition

Refers to the original inhabitants of a region, especially in historical or anthropological contexts (e.g. 土着文化, 土着权利). It can also be written and pronounced 土著 (tǔzhù).

noun
aboriginal (original inhabitants of a region)

Examples

  • 土着。
    Zhè xiē tǔ zhù de wén huà yǐ jīng yǒu shàng qiān nián lì shǐ le.
    These aboriginal cultures have a history of thousands of years.
  • 土着。
    Zhèng fǔ yīng gāi bǎo hù tǔ zhù de quán lì.
    The government should protect the rights of aboriginal peoples.
  • 土着。
    Wǒ men cān guān le yí gè tǔ zhù cūn zhuāng.
    We visited an aboriginal village.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

土tǔland
着zheattached

土 means land and 着 means attached, so it names people attached to a place.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 土 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 著; 着 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
者
者zhě著zháo
Same sound today

The traditional form 著 puts 艸 (grass; plant) above 者, which gives the sound; the simplified 着 is a later shorthand.

Open 着 →
Appears in
Ethnic Groups & Nationalities

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