神像 (shén xiàng) — statue or image of a deity, god, or spirit; ido… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

An image or statue of a god, deity, or ancestor — used both for religious figures and for memorial portraits of the deceased.

noun

statue or image of a deitygodor spiritidolportrait or likeness of a deceased ancestor

Measure word · 尊

Examples

神像。
Zhè zuò sì miào lǐ yǒu yì zūn gǔ lǎo de shén xiàng.
There is an ancient statue of a deity in this temple.
神像。
Tā jiā tīng táng guà zhe zǔ xiān de shén xiàng.
His family hall hangs a portrait of an ancestor.
神像。
Bó wù guǎn shōu cáng le xǔ duō míng qīng shí qī de shén xiàng.
The museum houses many statues of deities from the Ming and Qing dynasties.

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.

神 refers to a god and 像 to an image, together naming a divine likeness or idol.

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

示示shìgod; deity

Sound part声符shēngfú

申

申shēn神shén

Same sound today

The older form 申 drew lightning, which the ancients regarded as divine; 神 adds 示 (god/deity) to mark that meaning.

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

亻象像

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

象

Same sound today

像 uses 亻, the side form of 人 (person), with 象 giving the sound.

Appears in

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