TongTong
Sign in

异教 (yì jiào) — paganism; heathenism; heterodox religion

Definition

Literary/academic term for religions considered outside the mainstream. A formal, written word — use it in essays or history writing, not in everyday speech.

noun
paganismheathenismheterodox religion

Examples

  • ，异教。
    Zài gǔ dài, yì jiào bèi shì wéi duì zhǔ liú xìn yǎng de wēi xié.
    In ancient times, paganism was seen as a threat to mainstream beliefs.
  • 异教。
    Zhè běn shū xiáng xì jiè shào le ōu zhōu yì jiào de lì shǐ.
    This book introduces in detail the history of European paganism.
  • “异教”。
    Yǒu xiē rén bǎ fó jiào chuán rù zhōng guó chū qī de zuò fǎ chēng wéi "yì jiào".
    Some people refer to the early practices of Buddhism in China as "heterodox religions."

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.

异yìdifferent
教jiàoreligion

异 marks the 教 as different from the accepted one.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 異; 异 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 異 depicts a person with a mask 田 over the face, so the face looks different. The simplified 异 is a later shorthand.

Open 异 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
子子zǐchild
攵Written in full as攴pūteaching cane; stick that represents authority
Sound part声符shēngfú
爻
爻yáo教jiào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

教 uses 爻 for its sound and puts 子 (child) with 攵 (攴), a teaching cane, to show teaching a child.

Open 教 →
Appears in
Religion & Belief

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.