教宗 (jiào zōng) — pope (head of the Roman Catholic Church)

Definition

noun

pope (head of the Roman Catholic Church)

Measure word · 位

教宗。
Zuó tiān jiào zōng zài shèng bǐ dé guǎng chǎng jǔ xíng le mí sa.
Yesterday the Pope held Mass in St. Peter's Square.
教宗。
Zhè wèi jiào zōng yǐ tā de qiān xùn hé zhì huì shēn shòu xìn tú ài dài.
This Pope is deeply loved by the faithful for his humility and wisdom.
。
Xīn jiào zōng de xuǎn jǔ yǐn qǐ le quán shì jiè de guān zhù.
The election of the new Pope drew worldwide attention.

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.

宗zōngpatriarch

教 refers to religion, and 宗 to a patriarch or sect leader; together they name the Pope.

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.

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

宀示宗

宗 pairs 宀, a house, with 示, a spirit tablet, to show an ancestral shrine or temple.

Appears in