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皇族 (huáng zú) — the imperial clan; members of the imperial family

Definition

noun
the imperial clanmembers of the imperial family

Examples

  • 皇族。
    Lì shǐ shàng de huáng zú tōng cháng yōng yǒu hěn duō tè quán hé cái fù.
    Historically, imperial clans usually had many privileges and wealth.
  • 皇族。
    Qīng cháo de huáng zú zài xīn hài gé mìng hòu jīng lì le zhòng dà biàn huà.
    The imperial clan of the Qing dynasty underwent major changes after the Xinhai Revolution.
  • 皇族。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō miáo xiě le yí gè xū gòu wáng cháo de huáng zú shēng huó.
    This novel describes the life of the imperial clan of a fictional dynasty.

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.

皇huángimperial
族zúclan

imperial plus clan gives the members of the emperor's family.

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
𤼽𤼽𤼽
Sound part声符shēngfú
王
王wáng皇huáng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The part 𤼽 originally drew a single peacock feather; 王 was later added to give the sound.

Open 皇 →

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 →
Appears in
Family & Kinship

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