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祈祷 (qí dǎo) — to pray, to say prayers

Definition

verb
to prayto say prayers

Examples

  • 祈祷。
    Tā měi tiān dōu wéi shēng bìng de mǔ qīn qí dǎo.
    He prays for his sick mother every day.
  • 祈祷。
    Wǒ men qí dǎo míng tiān bú yào xià yǔ.
    We pray that it won't rain tomorrow.
  • 祈祷。
    Tā zài kǎo shì qián qí dǎo zì jǐ néng kǎo hǎo.
    She prays that she can do well on the exam.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

祈qípray
祷dǎopray

The act of praying combines 祈, an appeal to heaven, with 祷, a solemn request.

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
示示shìaltar
Sound part声符shēngfú
斤
斤jīn祈⁰qí
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

祈 has 示, an altar, on the left; 斤 on the right gives the character its sound.

Open 祈 →

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 禱; 祷 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
示示shìaltar
Sound part声符shēngfú
壽
壽shòu禱dǎo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 禱 pairs 示, an altar, with 壽, which gives its sound; the simplified 祷 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the old sound part.

Open 祷 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Religion & Belief2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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