祖
zǔ
Pinyin

Definition

祖
 - 
zǔ
  1. ancestor
  2. forefather
  3. grandparents
祖
 - 
Zǔ
  1. surname Zu

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

佛祖
Fó zǔ
  1. 1 Buddha
  2. 2 founder of a buddhist sect
祖国
zǔ guó
  1. 1 motherland
祖宗
zǔ zōng
  1. 1 ancestor
  2. 2 forebear
始祖
shǐ zǔ
  1. 1 primogenitor
  2. 2 founder of a school or trade
妈祖
Mā zǔ
  1. 1 Matsu, name of a sea goddess still widely worshipped on the SE China coast and in SE Asia

Idioms (2)

数典忘祖
shǔ diǎn wàng zǔ
  1. 1 to recount history but omit one's ancestors (idiom); to forget one's roots
荣宗耀祖
róng zōng yào zǔ
  1. 1 to bring honor to one's ancestors (idiom)
  2. 2 also written 光宗耀祖

Sample Sentences

将士是人民的子弟兵，全军将士要牢记，全心全意为人民服务的根本宗旨，忠实履行保卫祖国安全和人民和平生活的神圣职责忠实执行维护世界和平的神圣使命。我宣布，中国将裁减军队员额三十万。
jiàngshì shì rénmín de zǐdì bīng ，quán jūn jiàngshì yào láo jì ，quánxīnquányì wèi rénmín fúwù de gēnběn zōngzhǐ ，zhōngshí lǚxíng bǎowèi zǔguó ānquán hé rénmín hépíng shēnghuó de shénshèng zhízé zhōngshí zhíxíng wéihù shìjiè hépíng de shénshèng shǐmìng 。wǒ xuānbù ，Zhōngguó jiāng cáijiǎn jūnduì yuáné sān shíwàn 。
China’s People’s Liberation Army are the offspring of the people, the officers and soldiers of the entire army should remember the fundamental objective of serving the people with all their hearts and minds, loyally carrying out the sacred duty of safeguarding the security of the land of our ancestors and peaceful lives for the people, loyally carrying out the sacred mission of maintaining wold peace. I declare that China will reduce its army numbers by 300,000.
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非也，金马二字呢，取自金门、马祖两个地名的首字，这样的取名也符合全球主要影展界以金字招牌为号召的潮流。
fēi yě ，jīn mǎ èr zì ne ，qǔ zì jīnmén 、mǎzǔ liǎng gè dìmíng de shǒu zì ，zhèyàng de qǔ míng yě fúhé quánqiú zhǔyào yǐngzhǎn jiè yǐ jīn zì zhāopái wèi hàozhào de cháoliú 。
No, the two characters "Jinma", meaning "Golden Horse", come from the first characters of the place names Jinmen and Mazu. Forming the name in this way fits with the international convention of film festivals using "golden" in their names.
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我与父亲不相见已二年余了，我最不能忘记的是他的背影。那年冬天，祖母死了，父亲的差使也交卸了，正是祸不单行的日子，我从北京到徐州，打算跟着父亲奔丧回家。到徐州见着父亲，看见满院狼藉的东西，又想起祖母，不禁簌簌地流下眼泪。父亲说，“事已如此，不必难过，好在天无绝人之路！”
wǒ yǔ fùqin bù xiāngjiàn yǐ èr nián yú le ，wǒ zuì bù néng wàngjì de shì tā de bèiyǐng 。nànián dōngtiān ，zǔmǔ sǐ le ，fùqin de chāishi yě jiāoxiè le ，zhèngshì huòbùdānxíng de rìzi ，wǒ cóng Běijīng dào Xúzhōu ，dǎsuàn gēn zhe fùqin bēnsāng huíjiā 。dào Xúzhōu jiàn zhe fùqin ，kànjiàn mǎnyuàn lángjí de dōngxi ，yòu xiǎng qǐ zǔmǔ ，bùjīn sùsù de liú xià yǎnlèi 。fùqin shuō ，“shì yǐ rúcǐ ，búbì nánguò ，hǎozài tiānwújuérénzhīlù ！”
It's been over two years since I last saw my father and the picture that has been burned into my memory is the silhouette of his back. That winter, my grandmother passed away and my father was let off from his job. Those really were times where bad things came in pairs. I travelled from Beijing to Xu Zhou to meet up with my father, so that we could travel home together to attend the funeral. When I saw my father in Xu Zhou and the house in totally disarray, memories of my grandmother came flooding back. Tears stream down my face. My father said: "It is what is is. There's no need to be sad. There's always a way out."
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这是什么意思？是一定要光宗耀祖吗？这样压力实在是太大了。
zhè shì shénme yìsi ？shì yīdìng yào guāngzōngyàozǔ ma ？zhèyàng yālì shízàishì tàidà le 。
What does that mean? Is it that you have to make your ancestors proud? That kind of pressure is quite heavy.
Go to Lesson 
最后起名字要遵守一些常识，第一，忌讳祖先和先贤的名字；其次，不用生冷字；再次，少用多音字；最后，忌不雅的谐音。
zuìhòu qǐ míngzì yào zūnshǒu yīxiē chángshí ，dì yī ，jìhuì zǔxiān hé xiānxián de míngzi ；qícì ，bùyòng shēnglěngzì ；zàicì ，shǎo yòng duōyīnzì ；zuìhòu ，jì bùyā de xiéyīn 。
Finally when figuring out a name you need to respect some common principles. First of all, avoid using taboo names, like those of your ancestors or distinguished sages from the past; secondly, don't use obscure characters; additionally, don't use characters with more than one pronunciation; and finally, avoid homophones of vulgar words.
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过奖过奖啦，茶道本来就该与人分享才有意义，这茶文化里可蕴含了我们老祖宗几千年的智慧和修养啊。
guòjiǎng guòjiǎng la ，chádào běnlái jiù gāi yǔ rén fēnxiǎng cái yǒu yìyì ，zhè chá wénhuà lǐ kě yùnhán le wǒmen lǎo zǔzōng jǐ qiān nián de zhìhuì hé xiūyǎng ā 。
You're too kind, the art of tea is only meaningful when sharing with people. Tea culture holds several thousand years of the wisdom and cultivation of our forebearers.
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是啊，那传统的南方家庭年夜饭前呢是要祭祖的。
shì a ，nà chuántǒng de nánfāng jiātíng niányèfàn qián ne shì yào jìzǔ de 。
Yes, traditionally in southern Chinese homes, before Chinese New Year dinner they worship their ancestors.
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祭祖？就是祭拜祖先的意思吧，怎么祭祖呢？
jìzǔ ？jiùshì jìbài zǔxiān de yìsi ba ，zěnme jìzǔ ne ？
Worship the ancestors? You mean they offer sacrifices to the ancestors? Why do they do that?
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没错，祭祖的时候，人们会在桌上点上蜡烛，供上食物，然后再行叩拜祭祖之礼，寄望先人能保佑家庭和睦，万事如意。
méicuò ，jìzǔ de shíhou ，rénmen huì zài zhuō shàng diǎnshàng làzhú ，gōngshàng shíwù ，ránhòu zài xíng kòubài jìzǔ zhī lǐ ，jìwàng xiānrén néng bǎoyòu jiātíng hémù ，wànshì rúyì 。
Yes, when they worship the ancestors, people will light candles on the table and put food offerings on it, then they engage in the rite of kowtowing to the ancestors, in the hope that their forebearers will protect the harmony within the family and allow things to go smoothly for them.
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怎么？多提几次他们就来找你。那你怎么不多喊几次耶稣佛祖菩萨来保佑你呀？
zěnme ？duō tí jǐcì tāmen jiù lái zhǎo nǐ 。nà nǐ zěnme bù duō hǎn jǐcì Yēsū fózǔ púsà lái bǎoyòu nǐ ya ？
What about it? You think that if you keep mentioning them then they'll come for you. So why don't you call out for Jesus, Buddha or Bodhisattva to protect you?
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