族类 (zú lèi) — people of the same clan; clansmen

Definition

noun
people of the same clanclansmen

Examples

  • 族类，。
    Tā men shǔ yú tóng yí gè zú lèi, yīn cǐ bǐ cǐ fēi cháng xìn rèn.
    They belong to the same clan, so they trust each other a lot.
  • ，族类。
    Zài gǔ dài, zú lèi zhī jiān jīng cháng hù xiāng bāng zhù.
    In ancient times, clans often helped each other.
  • 族类。
    Zhè ge bù luò de zú lèi yǒu zhe yōu jiǔ de lì shǐ.
    The clansmen of this tribe have a long history.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

族zúclan
类lèikind

族 and 类 both refer to kin or kind, so together they mean clansmen.

Characters in this word

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

族 combines 㫃, a flag, and 矢, an arrow.

Open 族 →

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 類; 类 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
頪
頪lèi類lèi
Same sound today

The traditional form 類 pairs 犬, which relates to the meaning, with 頪, which gives the sound. The simplified 类 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 类 →

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