礼拜堂 (lǐ bài táng) — church | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

church

Measure word · 座

Examples

礼拜堂。
Zhè ge lǐ bài táng yǒu yì bǎi duō nián de lì shǐ le.
This church has a history of over a hundred years.
礼拜堂。
Měi gè xīng qī tiān tā men dōu huì qù lǐ bài táng zuò lǐ bài.
They go to church for worship every Sunday.
礼拜堂。
Nà zuò lǐ bài táng zuò luò zài xiǎo zhèn de zhōng xīn.
That church is located in the center of the small town.

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.

礼拜worship

礼lǐrite拜bàiworship

联合Coordinate

礼拜堂 is a hall for worship: 礼拜 means worship, and 堂 names the hall.

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 禮; 礼 is its simplified writing.

礻豊禮

Meaning part形符xíngfú

礻Written in full as示shìaltar

Sound part声符shēngfú

豊

豊lǐ禮lǐ

Same sound today

The traditional form 禮 pairs 礻 (altar) with 豊, a sound part, for performing rites at the altar; the simplified 礼 is a later shorthand.

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

扌手shǒuhand
𠦪𠦪𠦪herbs

拜 combines 扌 (hand, written fully as 手) with 𠦪 (herbs), showing a hand holding herbs as a gift.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

尚

尚shàng堂táng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

堂 uses 土 as a ground/earth part and 尚 for sound.

Appears in

Buildings & Structures Religion & Belief

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