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祷告 (dǎo gào) — to pray (to God or a deity)

Definition

verb
to pray (to God or a deity)

Examples

  • 祷告。
    Tā měi tiān zǎo wǎn dōu huì dǎo gào.
    He prays every morning and evening.
  • 祷告。
    Xìn tú men guì zài jiào táng lǐ qí shēng dǎo gào.
    The believers knelt in the church and prayed in unison.
  • 祷告。
    Tā zài shuì qián wéi jiā rén dǎo gào.
    She prays for her family before going to bed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

祷dǎopray
告gàotell/report

祷告 combines 祷, to pray, with 告, to tell or report, for a prayer addressed to a deity.

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 禱; 祷 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
示示shìaltar
Sound part声符shēngfú
壽
壽shòu禱dǎo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 禱 pairs 示, an altar, with 壽, which gives its sound; the simplified 祷 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the old sound part.

Open 祷 →

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

The origin is unclear: one theory sees 告 as 壴 (a decorated drum) above 口 (an open mouth), while another sees a tongue sticking out of 口.

Open 告 →
Appears in
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