保护神 (bǎo hù shén) — guardian angel; protector | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

guardian angelprotector

Measure word · 个

Examples

保护神，。
Tā shì wǒ de bǎo hù shén, zǒng shì zài wǒ kùn nan de shí hou bāng zhù wǒ.
He is my guardian angel, always helping me when I'm in trouble.
，保护神。
Zài zhōng guó wén huà zhōng, mén shén shì jiā tíng de bǎo hù shén.
In Chinese culture, door gods are the protectors of the family.
保护神，。
Tā jiù xiàng wǒ de bǎo hù shén yí yàng, yì zhí shǒu hù zhe wǒ.
She is like my guardian angel, always watching over me.

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.

保护protect

保bǎoprotect护hùprotect

联合Coordinate

保 and 护 both mean to protect, and 神 is a spirit or god who does the protecting.

Characters in this word

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

人人rénperson
子子zǐchild

保 originally showed a person 人 carrying a child 子 on their back, which led to the sense of protecting.

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

扌户护

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

户

户hù护hù

Same sound today

护 combines 扌 (the hand form 手) with 户, which gives the sound hù.

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.

Appears in

Religion & Belief

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