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教友 (jiào yǒu) — fellow believers; co-religionists; members of the same religious community

Definition

Refers to fellow members of the same religion — people who share your faith but are not family or close personal friends. The 友 stresses shared religious community rather than personal affection.

noun
fellow believersco-religionistsmembers of the same religious community
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 教友。
    Wǒ men měi zhōu dōu hé shè qū lǐ de jiào yǒu yì qǐ zuò lǐ bài.
    We attend worship every week with fellow believers in the community.
  • 教友。
    Tā shì yí wèi rè xīn bāng zhù jiào yǒu de mù shī.
    He is a pastor who enthusiastically helps his fellow believers.
  • 教友，。
    Zhè xiē jiào yǒu lái zì bù tóng de guó jiā, dàn tā men yǒu gòng tóng de xìn yǎng.
    These fellow believers come from different countries, but they share a common faith.

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.

教jiàoreligion
友yǒufriend

"教" means religion and "友" means friend, so it names a friend within the same faith.

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.

Open 教 →

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

友 is drawn as two 又, the hand form, side by side. The old explanation says two hands together mean friendship.

Open 友 →
Appears in
Religion & Belief

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