种族 (zhǒng zú) — race; ethnicity | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

种族 is a formal, academic term for 'race' (biological/physical groupings) and is often used in discussions of discrimination. 民族 refers to ethnic group or nationality (cultural/identity sense) and is the everyday word in most contexts.

noun

raceethnicity

Measure word · 个

Examples

种族。
Bù tóng zhǒng zú de rén zài yì qǐ gōng zuò.
People of different races work together.
种族。
zhǒng zú Bú yīng gāi chéng wéi qí shì de lǐ yóu.
Race should not be a reason for discrimination.
种族。
Měi gè zhǒng zú dōu yǒu zì jǐ de wén huà.
Every ethnicity has its own culture.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

族zúethnic group

“种” (race) and “族” (ethnic group) combine to mean race or ethnicity.

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.

禾中种

Meaning part形符xíngfú

禾禾hérice

Sound part声符shēngfú

中

中zhōng种zhǒng

Same sound today

种 pairs 禾, which shows rice or grain and fits meanings like plant and seed, with 中, which gives its sound.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

㫃㫃㫃flag
矢矢shǐarrow

族 combines 㫃, a flag, and 矢, an arrow.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Ethnic Groups & Nationalities 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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