徒 (tú) — (bound form) disciple, follower (in compounds like 门徒, 信徒); (bound form) person, often derogatory (in compounds like 匪徒, 暴徒); (bound form) in vain, merely (in compounds like 徒劳, 徒然)
Definition
Bound morpheme — does not stand alone. Means 'disciple/follower' (门徒, 信徒), a derogatory 'person' (匪徒, 暴徒), or 'in vain/merely' (徒劳, 徒然). Always appears as part of a compound.
bound form
disciplefollower (in compounds like 门徒, 信徒)personoften derogatory (in compounds like 匪徒, 暴徒)in vainmerely (in compounds like 徒劳, 徒然)
Examples
- 。Tā shì nà wèi zhù míng jiào shòu de mén tú.He is a disciple of that famous professor.
- 。Suǒ yǒu de nǔ lì dōu shì tú láo de.All the efforts were in vain.
- 。Zhè ge fěi tú yǐ jīng bèi jǐng chá zhuā zhù le.This bandit has already been caught by the police.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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
辵辵chuòwalk
徒 originally paired 辵, a walking sign, with 土 to show its sound. The shape later changed into 彳 and 走.
Appears in
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