圣战 (shèng zhàn) — (noun) holy war; jihad (especially in an Islami… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A 'holy war' waged for religious faith — in Chinese it covers both the Islamic 圣战 (jihad) and the medieval Christian crusades, and is also used loosely for any cause framed as a sacred fight.

noun

holy warjihad (especially in an Islamic context)crusade (a Christian military expedition in the medieval period)

Examples

圣战。
Tā men shēng chēng zhè shì yì chǎng wèi le xìn yǎng de shèng zhàn.
They claim this is a holy war for their faith.
，圣战。
Lì shǐ shàng, jī dū tú céng jīng fā qǐ guò shèng zhàn.
In history, Christians once launched a holy war.
圣战。
Xǔ duō guó jiā fǎn duì yǐ shèng zhàn de míng yì fā dòng zhàn zhēng.
Many countries oppose waging war in the name of holy war.

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.

圣 holy and 战 war combine for a holy war.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 聖; 圣 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

耳耳ěrear

Sound part声符shēngfú

呈

呈chéng聖shèng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 聖 puts 耳 (ear) beside 呈, which gives the sound; the simplified 圣 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical parts.

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

占戈战

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

占

占zhàn战zhàn

Same sound today

战 pairs 占, which gives its sound, with 戈, a weapon.

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