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异族 (yì zú) — a different ethnic group, race, clan, or tribe; (in historical context) a clan of a different surname

Definition

Literary/formal term for 'a different ethnic group or clan', often in historical contexts (e.g. ancient China). Unlike the everyday 民族, it carries an 'outsider / other' connotation.

noun
a different ethnic groupraceclanor tribe(in historical context) a clan of a different surname

Examples

  • ，异族。
    Zài duō yuán wén huà shè huì zhōng, wǒ men yào zūn zhòng yì zú de wén huà.
    In a multicultural society, we should respect the culture of different ethnic groups.
  • ，异族。
    Gǔ dài zhōng guó, yì zú zhī jiān bù néng tōng hūn.
    In ancient China, people from different surname clans could not intermarry.
  • 异族。
    Tā yīn wèi lái zì yì zú ér shòu dào pái chì.
    He was rejected because he came from a different ethnicity.

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
族zúclan

异 means different and 族 means clan, so the word points to a different ethnic group.

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 →

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

族 combines 㫃, a flag, and 矢, an arrow.

Open 族 →
Appears in
Ethnic Groups & Nationalities

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