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
Dàoshi 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 (塔), 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 镇 here means 'press down, hold in place', like a paperweight on supernatural threats.

Stroke Order

镇 zhèn
妖 yāo