祖宗
zǔ zōng
Pinyin

Definition

祖宗
 - 
zǔ zōng
  1. ancestor
  2. forebear

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

佛祖
Fó zǔ
  1. 1 Buddha
  2. 2 founder of a buddhist sect
宗师
zōng shī
  1. 1 great scholar respected for learning and integrity
正宗
zhèng zōng
  1. 1 orthodox school
  2. 2 fig. traditional
  3. 3 old school
  4. 4 authentic
  5. 5 genuine
祖国
zǔ guó
  1. 1 motherland
祖宗
zǔ zōng
  1. 1 ancestor
  2. 2 forebear

Idioms (5)

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
禅门五宗
chán mén wǔ zōng
  1. 1 the five schools of Chan Buddhism (idiom)
万变不离其宗
wàn biàn bù lí qí zōng
  1. 1 many superficial changes but no departure from the original stand (idiom); plus ça change, plus ça reste la mème chose
开宗明义
kāi zōng míng yì
  1. 1 to declare at the outset (idiom)

Sample Sentences

我是说我们中国人是日本人的老祖宗！
wǒ shì shuō wǒmen zhōngguórén shì rìběnrén de lǎo zǔzōng ！
I'm saying that we Chinese are the ancestors of the Japanese!
Go to Lesson 
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.
Go to Lesson 
我觉得啊，过节真正的意义是，把老祖宗的奋斗精神传下去，不是吗？
wǒ juéde ā ，guòjié zhēnzhèng de yìyì shì ，bǎ lǎo zǔzōng de fèndòu jīngshén chuán xiàqu ，bùshìma ？
Thinking about it, the real meaning of this festival is to pass on that fighting spirit of our ancestors. Wouldn't you agree?
Go to Lesson 
开个玩笑嘛，何必这么认真？大家都知道，这些动物是搭配着咱们老祖宗发明的“干支纪年法”来的，十二地支对应到十二种动物。
kāigewánxiào ma ，hébì zhème rènzhēn ？dàjiā dōu zhīdào ，zhèxiē dòngwù shì dāpèi zhe zánmen lǎo zǔzōng fāmíng de “gānzhī jìniánfǎ ”lái de ，shíèr dìzhī duìyìng dào shí èr zhǒng dòngwù 。
I was only joking around, why are you being so serious? Everyone knows that these twelve animals go along with the Stems-and-Branches cycle used by our ancestors to record years, each of the 12 earthly branches corresponds to an animal.
Go to Lesson 
老公，你看，这个是公元前3500年的文物呢，没想到老祖宗还挺开放的嘛。
lǎogōng ，nǐ kàn ，zhè ge shì gōngyuánqián 3500 nián de wénwù ne ，méixiǎngdào lǎo zǔzōng hái tǐng kāifàng de ma 。
Look dear, this artifact is from 3500 B.C., I didn't know the ancestors were so open-minded.
Go to Lesson 
好吧小祖宗，你可要节省点儿，爸妈都是工薪阶层，赚钱不容易啊。
hǎoba xiǎo zǔzōng ，nǐ kě yào jiéshěng diǎnr ，bàmā dōu shì gōngxīnjiēcéng ，zhuànqián bù róngyì a 。
Okay, offspring of mine. You need to save a bit. Your mom and dad are working class. Making money isn't easy.
Go to Lesson 
我可是有根据才这么说的！春捂秋冻，你懂不懂？这可是咱们老祖宗智慧和实践的总结。
wǒ kěshì yǒu gēnjù cái zhème shuō de ！chūnwǔqiūdòng ，nǐ dǒng bu dǒng ？zhè kěshì zánmen lǎo zǔzōng zhìhuì hé shíjiàn de zǒngjié 。
I've got the evidence to back it up. 'Wear more in the spring and less in the fall', understand? This sums up our ancestor's wisdom and practical experience.
Go to Lesson 
好好好，不说了不说了！反正我是跟着感觉走！你就跟着老祖宗走吧！
hǎo hǎo hǎo ，bù shuō le bù shuō le ！fǎnzhèng wǒ shì gēn zhe gǎnjué zǒu ！nǐ jiù gēn zhe lǎo zǔzōng zǒu ba ！
OK, OK, OK. You've said enough! Either way, I go with my feeling. You go ahead and go with our ancestors!
Go to Lesson 
可不是嘛，这小祖宗还经常想着逃课，我不盯紧点不行。
kěbùshì ma ，zhè xiǎo zǔzōng hái jīngcháng xiǎng zhe táokè ，wǒ bù dīng jǐn diǎn bùxíng 。
You said it. This spoiled little guy is always wanting to skip class. I have to keep my eye on him.
Go to Lesson 
Go to Lesson