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降生 (jiàng shēng) — (verb) to be born (used for religious founders or sacred figures); to be incarnated

Definition

A formal, literary verb meaning 'to be born,' used almost exclusively for religious founders or revered figures (e.g. 耶稣, 释迦牟尼) — not for ordinary people.

verb
to be born (used for religious founders or sacred figures)to be incarnated

Examples

  • 降生。
    Shì jiā móu ní jiàng shēng yú gōng yuán qián wǔ shì jì.
    Sakyamuni was born in the 5th century BCE.
  • 降生。
    Chuán shuō zhōng zhè wèi shèng rén jiàng shēng shí tiān yǒu yì xiàng.
    Legend says that when this sage was born, the sky showed unusual signs.
  • 降生。
    Jī dū jiào xiāng xìn yē sū jiàng shēng shì wèi le zhěng jiù shì rén.
    Christianity believes that Jesus was incarnated to save humankind.

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.

降jiàngdescend
生shēngbe born

降 means descend, and 生 means be born; 降生 describes a sacred figure descending and being born.

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
阝Written in full as阜fùhill, wall
Sound part声符shēngfú
夅
夅jiàng降xiáng
Same sound today

降 pairs 阝 (a hill or wall, written in full as 阜) with 夅, a sound part meaning 'to descend'; together they picture descending a hill.

Open 降 →

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

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →
Appears in
Life Stages & AgeReligion & Belief

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