党徒 (dǎng tú) — follower (of a political faction or party, often derogatory); henchman, crony

Definition

A derogatory term for blind followers or henchmen of a political party or faction — implies they obey without thinking. Used in critical, often historical, writing rather than neutral contexts.

noun
follower (of a political faction or party, often derogatory)henchmancrony
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 党徒，。
    Zhè xiē dǎng tú zhī zhī dào fú cóng lǐng xiù, cóng bù dú lì sī kǎo.
    These followers only know how to obey the leader and never think independently.
  • 党徒。
    Lì shǐ xué jiā jiē lù le gāi zhèng quán de dǎng tú rú hé pò hài yì jǐ.
    Historians have exposed how the regime's henchmen persecuted dissenters.
  • 党徒，。
    Tā céng jīng shì nà ge pài xì de zhōng shí dǎng tú, hòu lái què gōng kāi fǎn duì qí zhǔ zhāng.
    He was once a loyal follower of that faction but later publicly opposed its positions.

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.

党dǎngparty/clique
徒túfollower

党 ('party/clique') and 徒 ('follower') together mean adherents of a faction.

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
儿儿érhuman
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng党dǎng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

党 pairs 尚, giving its sound, with 儿, a human.

Open 党 →

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
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
土
土tǔ徒tú
Same sound today

徒 originally paired 辵, a walking sign, with 土 to show its sound. The shape later changed into 彳 and 走.

Open 徒 →

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