神话 (shén huà) — myth; mythology; legend | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

神话 refers to traditional tales about gods, creation, and supernatural beings (Greek, Chinese, etc.). Unlike 传说 (often about historical people or places) or 童话 (children's stories), 神话 deals with cosmic, religious, or cultural origin stories.

noun

mythmythologylegend

Examples

神话。
Zhōng guó gǔ dài shén huà gù shi fēi cháng yǒu míng.
Ancient Chinese myths and legends are very famous.
神话，。
Tā bù xiāng xìn zhè xiē shén huà, zhī xiāng xìn kē xué.
He doesn't believe these myths, only science.
神话。
Xī là shén huà duì xī fāng wén huà yǐng xiǎng hěn dà.
Greek mythology has a great influence on Western culture.

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.

Stories 话 about gods 神 become myths.

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.

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 話; 话 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánword

Sound part声符shēngfú

𠯑

𠯑𠯑話huà

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 話, 言 relates to words and 𠯑 gives the sound; the simplified 话 is a shorthand, so its right side is not that sound part.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Mythology & Folklore

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