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教徒 (jiào tú) — believer, follower (of a religion)

Definition

教徒 means a believer or follower of a religion — it always pairs with a specific faith (e.g. 佛教徒, 天主教徒), so you usually need a prefix naming the religion. It refers to the person, not the faith itself (that would be 宗教).

noun
believerfollower (of a religion)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 教徒。
    Tā shì yí wèi qián chéng de jiào tú.
    He is a devout believer.
  • 教徒。
    Hěn duō jiào tú cān jiā le jīn tiān de huó dòng.
    Many believers attended today's event.
  • 教徒。
    Zhè wèi jiào tú měi tiān dōu huì qí dǎo.
    This believer prays every day.

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
徒túfollower

教 (religion) and 徒 (follower) combine to mean a religious follower.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
土
土tǔ徒tú
Same sound today

徒 originally paired 辵, a walking sign, with 土 to show its sound. The shape later changed into 彳 and 走.

Open 徒 →
Appears in
Religion & Belief

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