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教士 (jiào shì) — clergyman, priest, Christian missionary (general term for a religious minister, especially in Christianity)

Definition

教士 is a formal term for a Christian minister or missionary, used mainly in written or historical contexts. In everyday speech, Christians typically use 牧师 or 传教士 instead.

noun
clergymanpriestChristian missionary (general term for a religious minister, especially in Christianity)
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 教士。
    Nà wèi jiào shì zài jiào táng lǐ bù dào.
    That clergyman preached in the church.
  • ，教士。
    Lì shǐ shàng, hěn duō jiào shì lái dào zhōng guó chuán bō xìn yǎng.
    Historically, many missionaries came to China to spread their faith.
  • 教士，。
    Tā shì yì míng jiào shì, zhì lì yú bāng zhù pín kùn shè qū.
    He is a clergyman, dedicated to helping poor communities.

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.

教jiàoreligion
士shìscholar

教 refers to religion and 士 to a scholar or person, denoting a religious person.

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
子子zǐchild
攵Written in full as攴pūteaching cane; stick that represents authority
Sound part声符shēngfú
爻
爻yáo教jiào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

教 uses 爻 for its sound and puts 子 (child) with 攵 (攴), a teaching cane, to show teaching a child.

Open 教 →

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

The shape 士 comes from a simple drawing of a war axe. The character later came to mean a soldier, officer, or intellectual.

Open 士 →
Appears in
Religion & Belief

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