Meaning of 宗教
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- religion
How to use 宗教
宗教 is a formal noun used for religion in general or for a specific faith. It often appears in phrases like 宗教信仰 (zōngjiào xìnyǎng, religious belief) and 宗教自由 (zōngjiào zìyóu, freedom of religion). Example: 他没有宗教信仰。(Tā méiyǒu zōngjiào xìnyǎng.) He has no religious belief.
宗 (zōng) shows a roof 宀 over an altar 示, a place for ancestors and worship. Add 教 (jiào), teaching, and you get the teachings of worship: religion.
Common mistake: In 宗教, 教 is read in the fourth tone, jiào, not the first tone jiāo used in the verb 教 (jiāo, to teach someone). Learners also confuse 宗 (zōng) with 完 (wán) or 定 (dìng), which share the 宀 roof but have different parts underneath.
宗教 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
宗 zōng · school · 8 strokes
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教 jiāo · to teach · 11 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 宗教.
| 教学楼 | jiàoxuélóu | school building; academic building |
| 教育 | jiàoyù | to educate; to teach |
| 教师 | jiàoshī | teacher |
| 教室 | jiàoshì | classroom |
| 教学 | jiàoxué | to teach |
| 教练 | jiàoliàn | to coach; to train; instructor; sports coach; trainer (CL:位[wei4],名[ming2]) |
| 请教 | qǐngjiào | to ask for guidance; to consult |
| 教材 | jiàocái | teaching material |
| 教授 | jiàoshòu | to teach (a subject) |
| 教训 | jiàoxùn | to provide guidance; to lecture sb; to upbraid; a talking-to; a bitter lesson |
| 教堂 | jiàotáng | church; chapel |
| 基督教 | Jīdūjiào | Christianity |
Questions about 宗教
What does 宗教 mean?
宗教 (zōngjiào) means "religion" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 宗教?
宗教 is made of 2 characters: 宗 (8 strokes), 教 (11 strokes). That is 19 strokes in total.
Is 宗教 an HSK word?
Yes. 宗教 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I say what religion someone follows in Chinese?
You can ask 你信什么教？(Nǐ xìn shénme jiào?) What religion do you believe in? Answers use 信 plus the faith, such as 信佛教 (xìn fójiào, to be Buddhist) or 信基督教 (xìn jīdūjiào, to be Christian).
Is 宗教 a sensitive topic in Chinese conversation?
It can be, so many people avoid it with strangers or at work. In casual talk people more often say 信教 (xìnjiào, to be religious) than use the formal noun 宗教.