镇妖

鎮妖
zhènyāo
verb

Meanings

  1. 1 to subdue / drive away evil spirits
  2. 2 to suppress demons (folk-religion / fantasy fiction)

Examples

HSK 6
Chuánshuō zhè zuò tǎ shì yònglái zhènyāo de.
Legend says this pagoda was built to suppress evil spirits.
HSK 7-9
Dàoshì ná zhe táo mù jiàn zhènyāo qū guǐ.
The Daoist priest wielded a peachwood sword to subdue demons and chase off ghosts.

Tips

culture
Stock vocabulary of Chinese folk religion and fantasy: pagodas (), peachwood swords (桃木剑), 镇妖石 (demon-suppressing stones) and 镇妖塔 (demon-suppressing pagodas) all 镇妖. The most famous example is 雷峰塔 (Leifeng Pagoda) in Hangzhou, said in legend to imprison the White Snake spirit. The character here means 'press down, hold in place', like a paperweight on supernatural threats.

Stroke Order

zhèn
yāo