和尚 (hé shang) — Buddhist monk | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Everyday word for a Buddhist monk. 僧人 is a more formal, written equivalent.

noun

Buddhist monk

Measure word · 个

和尚。
Zhè wèi hé shang měi tiān zài sì miào lǐ niàn jīng.
This monk chants sutras in the temple every day.
和尚。
Nà ge hé shang zhèng zài jiāo rén dǎ zuò.
That monk is teaching people to meditate.
和尚。
Wǒ zuó tiān zài shān shàng yù dào le yí wèi hé shang.
I met a monk on the mountain yesterday.

Single-morpheme word

构词法gòucífǎ

音译yīnyìTransliteration

The characters spell the sound of a foreign word; their individual meanings play no part.

和尚 spells a foreign sound for a Buddhist monk; 和 and 尚 carry no meaning of their own here.

Sound-only characters

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

禾口和

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

禾

Same sound today

和 pairs 禾, which gives the sound, with 口 (mouth), the meaning part; the reference connects this shape to harmony.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

向

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

尚 pairs 八 with 向: 八 carries the meaning, and 向 gives the sound.

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