天主教徒

tiānzhǔjiàotú

noun #8,349

Measure Word

一个天主教徒 gè

Meanings

1 Catholic (person); Roman Catholic

Characters

lord; master; main

religion; teaching; to teach

follower; disciple; apprentice

Heaven's Lord + religion + follower - a follower of the 'Lord of Heaven' religion (Catholicism).

Examples

HSK 5

全世界有超过十亿天主教徒。

Quánshìjiè yǒu chāoguò shíyì tiānzhǔjiàotú.

There are over one billion Catholics worldwide.

HSK 7-9

他是一个虔诚的天主教徒。

Tā shì yígè qiánchéng de tiānzhǔjiàotú.

He is a devout Catholic.

HSK 7-9

她的家庭世代都是天主教徒。

Tā de jiātíng shìdài dōu shì tiānzhǔjiàotú.

Her family has been Catholic for generations.

Tips

usage

天主教 is Catholicism; adding 徒 makes it 'Catholic person.' Similarly: 基督教徒 (Protestant), 佛教徒 (Buddhist), 伊斯兰教徒 (Muslim). The suffix 徒 means follower/disciple.

history

天主 (Lord of Heaven) was the Chinese translation chosen by Jesuit missionaries like Matteo Ricci in the 16th century, connecting Catholic theology with the Chinese concept of 天 (heaven).

Stroke Order

天 tiān

主 zhǔ

教 jiāo

徒 tú