教义 (jiào yì) — religious doctrine; creed

Definition

Formal term for the official teachings or creed of a religion — used in academic, religious, and written contexts rather than everyday speech.

noun

religious doctrinecreed

教义。
Zhè ge jiào yì yǐng xiǎng le hěn duō rén.
This doctrine influenced many people.
教义。
Bù tóng de zōng jiào yǒu bù tóng de jiào yì.
Different religions have different doctrines.
教义。
Tā yì shēng dōu zài yán jiū jī dū jiào de jiào yì.
He spent his life studying Christian doctrine.

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.

义yìmeaning

教 refers to teaching or religion and 义 to its meaning, together forming doctrine.

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.

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.

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 義; 义 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

我

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 義 has 我 giving the sound and 羊 meaning good or auspicious; the simplified 义 is a later abbreviation.

Appears in