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教条 (jiào tiáo) — (noun) dogma, doctrine (often with a negative connotation of being rigid or outdated); (adjective) dogmatic, doctrinaire

Definition

教条 (jiàotiáo) is 'doctrine/dogma' with a strongly negative tone — a rigid rule that is followed blindly, unlike the neutral 原则 ('principle'). As an adjective, it means dogmatic, often describing inflexible thinking or education.

noun
dogmadoctrine (often with a negative connotation of being rigid or outdated)
adjective
dogmaticdoctrinaire

Examples

  • 教条。
    Bú yào máng mù xiāng xìn rèn hé jiào tiáo.
    Don't blindly believe any dogma.
  • 教条，。
    Tā de sī xiǎng hěn jiào tiáo, cóng bù jiē shòu xīn guān diǎn.
    His thinking is very dogmatic; he never accepts new ideas.
  • 教条。
    Zhè zhǒng jiào tiáo shì de jiào yù xiàn zhì le xué shēng de chuàng zào lì.
    This kind of dogmatic education limits students' creativity.

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jiàoteaching
条tiáoarticle

教 and 条 combine as an article of teaching, hence a fixed doctrine or dogma.

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 →

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 條; 条 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
攸
攸yōu條tiáo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 條 pairs 木, a small branch or stick, with 攸, which shows a person warned by a hand holding a stick, as a sound part; 条 is a later shortened shape.

Open 条 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract ConceptsReligion & Belief

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