龙王 (Lóng Wáng) — Dragon King (Chinese rain deity and ruler of waters, venerated in folk religion and mythology)

Definition

龙王 (Lóng Wáng) is the Dragon King of Chinese mythology — a rain and water deity worshipped in folk religion, not a fantasy creature.

noun
Dragon King (Chinese rain deity and ruler of waters, venerated in folk religion and mythology)

Examples

  • 龙王。
    Gǔ dài nóng mín cháng xiàng Lóng Wáng qí qiú jiàng yǔ.
    Ancient farmers often prayed to the Dragon King for rain.
  • ，。
    Xī yóu jì zhōng, sūn wù kōng hé Lóng Wáng dǎ guò jià.
    In Journey to the West, Sun Wukong fought with the Dragon King.
  • 龙王。
    Yán hǎi de miào lǐ gòng fèng zhe Lóng Wáng de shén xiàng.
    The coastal temple houses a statue of the Dragon King.

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.

龙lóngdragon
王wángking

龙 (dragon) specifies the kind of 王 (king), meaning the Dragon King.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 龍; 龙 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 龍 originally drew a sacred creature with a large mouth and a snake-like body; the simplified 龙 is the form written here.

Open 龙 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 王 comes from a picture of a ritual axe, an object kept near a throne and connected with royal power.

Open 王 →

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