虔敬 (qián jìng) — reverent, devout, thoroughly sincere

Definition

A formal, written adjective meaning 'reverent' — describes deep, sincere respect toward something sacred (gods, rituals, holy objects). Stronger and more literary than 尊敬; not used for everyday respect among people.

adjective
reverentdevoutthoroughly sincere

Examples

  • 虔敬。
    Tā duì shén líng shí fēn qián jìng.
    He is very reverent towards the divine.
  • 虔敬。
    Tā yǐ yì zhǒng qián jìng de xīn qíng qí dǎo.
    She prayed with a reverent heart.
  • 虔敬。
    Rén men yòng qián jìng de mù guāng zhù shì zhe shèng wù.
    People gazed at the sacred object with reverent eyes.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

虔qiánreverent
敬jìngrespectful

虔, meaning reverent, and 敬, meaning respectful, together express devout sincerity.

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
虍虍hū
Sound part声符shēngfú
文
文wén虔qián
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

虔 pairs 虍 and 文. One account treats 文 as the sound part and 虍 as the meaning part; another treats 虍 as the sound part.

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

  • 茍茍jìkneeling person or sitting dog
  • 攴攴pūhand holding a stick, authority

敬 is possibly formed from 茍, a kneeling person or sitting dog, and 攴, a hand holding a stick.

Open 敬 →

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