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族群 (zú qún) — ethnic group

Definition

族群 refers to a group of people linked by shared ethnicity, culture, or kinship — broader and more academic than 民族, which usually refers to a nation or official ethnic category. Often used in social-science and anthropological contexts.

noun
ethnic group
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 族群。
    Zhè ge dì qū yǒu duō gè zú qún.
    This region has multiple ethnic groups.
  • 族群。
    Bù tóng zú qún de rén zài zhè lǐ shēng huó.
    People from different ethnic groups live here.
  • 族群。
    Wǒ men yào zūn zhòng měi yí gè zú qún de wén huà.
    We should respect the culture of every ethnic group.

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.

族zúethnic
群qúngroup

“族” indicates ethnic ties and “群” indicates a group, so together it means an ethnic group.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
羊羊yáng
Sound part声符shēngfú
君
君jūn群
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

群 pairs 羊, a sheep, to point to a herd or group, with 君 giving the sound.

Open 群 →
Appears in
Ethnic Groups & Nationalities

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