神父 (shén fù) — father (Catholic or Orthodox priest) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Catholic/Orthodox priest (神父 shénfu). For Protestant clergy use 牧师; for a generic religious term use 教士 or 神职人员.

noun

father (Catholic or Orthodox priest)

Measure word · 位

Examples

神父。
Tā shì jiào táng lǐ de shén fù.
He is the priest at the church.
神父。
Zuó tiān wǒ qù jiào táng zhǎo shén fù chàn huǐ.
Yesterday I went to the church to confess to the priest.
神父，。
Zhè wèi shén fù lái zì yì dà lì, huì shuō zhōng wén.
This priest comes from Italy and can speak Chinese.

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.

父fùfather

“神” (divine) narrows “父” (father) to a religious father.

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.

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

The shape 父 shows a hand holding a stone blade, referring to a man working with a stone axe.

Appears in

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