门神 (mén shén) — door god (folk deity whose image is pasted on doors for protection)

Definition

门神 (mén shén) are the protective folk deities whose images are pasted on doors — most famously at Chinese New Year — to guard the household from evil spirits.

noun
door god (folk deity whose image is pasted on doors for protection)
Measure word · 张

Examples

  • ，门神。
    Guò nián de shí hou, jiā jiā hù hù dōu tiē mén shén.
    During the New Year, every household pastes up door gods.
  • 。
    Zhè duì mén shén shì yé ye qīn shǒu huà de.
    This pair of door gods was hand-painted by my grandfather.
  • 门神。
    mén shén De chuán shuō zài zhōng guó liú chuán le hěn jiǔ.
    The legend of the door gods has been passed down in China for a long time.

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.

门méndoor
神shéndeity

“门” means door and “神” means deity, so it refers to a god placed on doors.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 門; 门 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 門 pictures a gate as two door shapes side by side; the simplified 门 is a later shorthand.

Open 门 →

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.

Open 神 →

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