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无神论 (wú shén lùn) — atheism

Definition

noun
atheism

Examples

  • 无神论。
    Tā shì yí gè jiān dìng de wú shén lùn zhě.
    He is a firm atheist.
  • 无神论。
    wú shén lùn Rèn wéi shì jiè shàng méi yǒu shén huò chāo zì rán lì liàng.
    Atheism holds that there are no gods or supernatural forces in the world.
  • ，无神论。
    Zài xiàn dài shè huì, wú shén lùn hé zōng jiào xìn yǎng kě yǐ hé píng gòng cún.
    In modern society, atheism and religious belief can coexist peacefully.

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.

无神without god
无wúwithout神shéngod
动宾Verb + object
论lùndoctrine

无神 (without god) + 论 (doctrine) gives the doctrine of no gods.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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
示示shìgod; deity
Sound part声符shēngfú
申
申shēn神shén
Same sound today

The older form 申 drew lightning, which the ancients regarded as divine; 神 adds 示 (god/deity) to mark that meaning.

Open 神 →

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 論; 论 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánsay
Sound part声符shēngfú
侖
侖lún論lùn
Same sound today

The traditional form 論 pairs 言 (“say”) with 侖 as a sound component; the simplified 论 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 论 →
Appears in
Religion & Belief

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