犹太教徒 (yóu tài jiào tú) — follower of Judaism; Judaist

Definition

noun
follower of JudaismJudaist
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 犹太教徒。
    Tā shì yí wèi qián chéng de yóu tài jiào tú.
    He is a devout follower of Judaism.
  • 犹太教徒。
    Xǔ duō yóu tài jiào tú měi zhōu wǔ wǎn shàng qù qí dǎo.
    Many Jewish followers go to pray on Friday evenings.
  • 犹太教徒。
    yóu tài jiào tú De yǐn shí guī dìng fēi cháng yán gé.
    The dietary rules of Judaism are very strict.

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.

犹太Jewish
教徒religious follower
教jiàoreligion徒túfollower
偏正Modifier + head

犹太 names the Jewish tradition, while 教徒, from 教 religion and 徒 follower, gives a follower of Judaism.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 猶; 犹 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
酋
酋qiú猶yóu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 猶 combines 犬 (dog) with 酋 as a sound part, and the evidence identifies it as a kind of monkey. The simplified 犹 is a shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 犹 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

太 is a modified form of 大, with an extra dot added to show 'too big'.

Open 太 →

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 →

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