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风俗 (fēng sú) — social custom; custom

Definition

风俗 (fēngsú) refers to the customs and traditions shared by a region or culture — broader and more cultural than a personal 习惯 (habit), and more general than 习俗 (which emphasizes specific local practices).

noun
social customcustom
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 风俗。
    Měi gè dì fāng dōu yǒu zì jǐ de fēng sú.
    Every place has its own customs.
  • 风俗。
    Zhōng guó de xīn nián fēng sú hěn yǒu qù.
    Chinese New Year customs are very interesting.
  • 风俗。
    Zhè ge fēng sú zài dāng dì hěn zhòng yào.
    This custom is very important locally.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

风fēngcustom
俗súcustom

风 names shared ways of life, and 俗 names the habits kept by a group.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 风 →

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
谷
谷gǔ俗sú
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

俗 is built from 亻, a person, and 谷, which gives the sound; it refers to customs of people.

Open 俗 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5Chinese Culture & Customs

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