民族英雄 (mín zú yīng xióng) — national hero

Definition

A 'national hero' — someone honored for defending or uplifting the 民族 (nation/ethnic group). Concrete proper nouns like 岳飞 and 郑成功 are typical examples; use this term, not 个人英雄, when praising historical figures for patriotic deeds.

noun
national hero

Examples

  • 民族英雄。
    Wǒ men dōu hěn zūn jìng zhè wèi mín zú yīng xióng.
    We all respect this national hero.
  • 民族英雄。
    mín zú yīng xióng De jīng shén zhí dé wǒ men xué xí.
    The spirit of a national hero is worth learning from.
  • 民族英雄。
    Yuè fēi shì zhōng guó lì shǐ shàng zhù míng de mín zú yīng xióng.
    Yue Fei is a famous national hero in Chinese history.

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.

民族nation
民mínpeople族zúclan
偏正Modifier + head
英雄hero
英yīngoutstanding雄xióngheroic
联合Side by side

民族 names the nation and 英雄 means a hero, so a national hero.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The early form of 民 shows an eye pierced by a sharp cross-shaped implement, possibly linked to an injured or unclear eye.

Open 民 →

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
央
央yāng英yīng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

英 pairs 艹 (grass) with 央, which gives the sound.

Open 英 →

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
隹隹zhuī
Sound part声符shēngfú
厷
厷gōng雄xióng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

雄 is formed by putting 隹 together with 厷, with 厷 giving the character's sound.

Open 雄 →

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