圣水 (shèng shuǐ) — holy water | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

holy water

Examples

圣水。
Jiào táng lǐ yǒu yì píng shèng shuǐ.
There is a bottle of holy water in the church.
圣水。
Tā yòng shèng shuǐ sǎ zài xìn tú shēn shàng.
He sprinkled holy water on the believers.
圣水。
Zhè zhǒng shèng shuǐ jù shuō yǒu zhì bìng de shén qí gōng xiào.
This kind of holy water is said to have miraculous healing effects.

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.

圣 means holy and 水 means water, naming holy water.

Characters in this word

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 聖; 圣 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

耳耳ěrear

Sound part声符shēngfú

呈

呈chéng聖shèng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 聖 puts 耳 (ear) beside 呈, which gives the sound; the simplified 圣 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical parts.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Appears in

Religion & Belief

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