祖

zǔ
noun #11,683

Meanings

  1. 1 ancestor
  2. 2 grandfather

Examples

HSK 4
Tā de zǔfù shì yī wèi yīshēng.
His paternal grandfather is a doctor.
HSK 7-9
Wǒmen yào bǎowèi zǔguó.
We must protect our motherland.
HSK 7-9
Wǒmen de zǔxiān zhù zài zhège shāngǔ lǐ.
Our ancestors lived in this valley.

Tips

memory
礻 (altar) + 且 (moreover) - rituals for ancestors at the altar.

Components

radical
礻 shì
spirit; altar (left-side)
Spirit radical on the left - left-side form of 示 - marks 祖 as a religious or ritual word. Ancestors are venerated through altar offerings in Chinese tradition. Same radical drives 神 (god), 礼 (rite), 福 (blessing), 祈 (pray). Don't confuse with 衤 (clothing), which has five strokes.
phonetic
且 qiě
moreover; and (also: ancestral tablet)
且 supplies the sound - qiě/zǔ are both readings of this character - and is also the original semantic element: 且 originally pictured a stacked ancestral tablet on an altar. So 祖 is doubly motivated: spirit-altar plus ancestor-tablet, the canonical ancestor-worship character.

Stroke Order

祖 zǔ