教规 (jiào guī) — religious canon; church rules

Definition

noun

religious canonchurch rules

教规。
Zhè ge jiào táng de jiào guī fēi cháng yán gé.
The rules of this church are very strict.
教规。
Tā men bì xū zūn shǒu yī sī lán jiào de jiào guī.
They must follow the canons of Islam.
教规。
Zhè xiē jiào guī shì jǐ bǎi nián qián zhì dìng de.
These religious canons were established hundreds of years ago.

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 refers to religion or teaching and 规 means rule, so the word means religious rules.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 規; 规 is its simplified writing.

夫見規

The simplified 规 is a shorthand; the traditional form 規 shows a cross-shaped compass in its early drawing, and its later form uses 夫 and 見.

Appears in