祖先
zǔ xiān
Pinyin

Definition

祖先
 - 
zǔ xiān
  1. ancestor
  2. forebears

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

先
xiān
  1. 1 early
  2. 2 prior
  3. 3 former
  4. 4 in advance
  5. 5 first
先生
Xiān sheng
  1. 1 Mister (Mr.)
事先
shì xiān
  1. 1 in advance
  2. 2 before the event
  3. 3 beforehand
  4. 4 prior
佛祖
Fó zǔ
  1. 1 Buddha
  2. 2 founder of a buddhist sect
优先
yōu xiān
  1. 1 to have priority
  2. 2 to take precedence
先前
xiān qián
  1. 1 before
  2. 2 previously
先后
xiān hòu
  1. 1 early or late
  2. 2 priority
  3. 3 in succession
  4. 4 one after another
先机
xiān jī
  1. 1 key moment
  2. 2 decisive opportunity
先知
xiān zhī
  1. 1 prophet
先进
xiān jìn
  1. 1 advanced (technology)
  2. 2 to advance
先锋
xiān fēng
  1. 1 vanguard
  2. 2 pioneer
  3. 3 avant-garde
原先
yuán xiān
  1. 1 originally
  2. 2 original
  3. 3 former
宋祖英
Sòng Zǔ yīng
  1. 1 Song Zuying (1966-), Chinese folk music singer
抢先
qiǎng xiān
  1. 1 to rush (to do sth urgent)
  2. 2 to try to be the first
  3. 3 to forestall
率先
shuài xiān
  1. 1 to take the lead
  2. 2 to show initiative
祖
Zǔ
  1. 1 surname Zu
祖先
zǔ xiān
  1. 1 ancestor
  2. 2 forebears
祖国
zǔ guó
  1. 1 motherland
祖宗
zǔ zōng
  1. 1 ancestor
  2. 2 forebear
祭祖
jì zǔ
  1. 1 to offer sacrifices to one's ancestors

Idioms (20)

先下手为强
xiān xià shǒu wéi qiáng
  1. 1 strike first and gain the upper hand (idiom, martial arts term); Making the first move is an advantage.
先斩后奏
xiān zhǎn hòu zòu
  1. 1 first decapitate then present your trophy (idiom); act first, report later
先发制人
xiān fā zhì rén
  1. 1 to gain the initiative by striking first (idiom); to preempt
  2. 2 to anticipate
  3. 3 preemptive
先睹为快
xiān dǔ wéi kuài
  1. 1 joy of first experience (idiom)
  2. 2 the pleasure of reading sth for the first time
先礼后兵
xiān lǐ hòu bīng
  1. 1 peaceful measures before using force (idiom); diplomacy before violence
  2. 2 jaw-jaw is better than war-war
兵马未动，粮草先行
bīng mǎ wèi dòng , liáng cǎo xiān xíng
  1. 1 before the troops move, fodder and provisions go first (idiom); logistics comes before military maneuvers
  2. 2 an army marches on its stomach
工欲善其事，必先利其器
gōng yù shàn qí shì , bì xiān lì qí qì
  1. 1 To do a good job, an artisan needs the best tools (idiom). Good tools are prerequisite to the successful execution of a job
捷足先登
jié zú xiān dēng
  1. 1 the quick-footed climb up first (idiom)
  2. 2 the early bird catches the worm
  3. 3 first come, first served
敢为人先
gǎn wéi rén xiān
  1. 1 to dare to be first
  2. 2 to pioneer (idiom)
数典忘祖
shǔ diǎn wàng zǔ
  1. 1 to recount history but omit one's ancestors (idiom); to forget one's roots
春江水暖鸭先知
chūn jiāng shuǐ nuǎn yā xiān zhī
  1. 1 lit. the duck is the first to know if the spring water is warm (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. an expert in the field knows which way the wind blows
荣宗耀祖
róng zōng yào zǔ
  1. 1 to bring honor to one's ancestors (idiom)
  2. 2 also written 光宗耀祖
欲善其事，必先利其器
yù shàn qí shì , bì xiān lì qí qì
  1. 1 To do a good job, an artisan needs the best tools (idiom). Good tools are prerequisite to the successful execution of a job
溘先朝露
kè xiān zhāo lù
  1. 1 the morning dew will swiftly dissipate (idiom); fig. ephemeral and precarious nature of human existence
争先恐后
zhēng xiān kǒng hòu
  1. 1 striving to be first and fearing to be last (idiom); outdoing one another
百善孝为先
bǎi shàn xiào wéi xiān
  1. 1 of all virtues filial piety is most important (idiom)
笨鸟先飞
bèn niǎo xiān fēi
  1. 1 lit. the clumsy bird flies early (idiom); fig. to work hard to compensate for one's limited abilities
闻风先遁
wén fēng xiān dùn
  1. 1 to flee at hearing the news (idiom)
身先朝露
shēn xiān zhāo lù
  1. 1 body will go with the morning dew (idiom); fig. ephemeral and precarious nature of human existence
近水楼台先得月
jìn shuǐ lóu tái xiān dé yuè
  1. 1 the pavilion closest to the water enjoys moonlight first (idiom)
  2. 2 to benefit from intimacy with an influential person

Sample Sentences

你没听说过“徐福东渡”吗？就是秦始皇让徐福带着三千童男童女去找长生不老药，后来他们就定居日本了，徐福他们就是日本人的祖先！
nǐ méi tīngshuō guo “Xú Fú dōngdù ”ma ？jiùshì Qínshǐ huáng ràng Xú Fú dài zhe sānqiān tóngnántóngnǚ qù zhǎo chángshēngbùlǎo yào ，hòulái tāmen jiù dìngjū rìběn le ，Xú Fú tāmen jiùshì rìběnrén de zǔxiān ！
You've never heard of ''Xu Fu's Voyage to the East?" That was when Qin Shihuang had Xu Fu take 3000 young men and women to look for an immortality medicine. Afterwards, they settled in Japan. Xu Fu and his crew are the ancestors of the Japanese people.
Go to Lesson 
哦，那咱不说这个传说。日本都有教授说日本人的祖先是云南人，他们专门去考察了好几次。好几次。后来还有电视台的去拍过电视，就叫《 日本的起源 》！
o ，nà zán bù shuō zhè ge chuánshuō 。rìběn dōu yǒu jiàoshòu shuō rìběn rén de zǔxiān shì yúnnán rén ，tā men zhuānmén qù kǎochá le hǎo jǐ cì 。hǎo jǐ cì 。hòulái hái yǒu diànshìtái de qù pāi guo diànshì ，jiù jiào 《 rìběndeqǐyuán 》！
OK, then we won't just talk about this legend. There are even Japanese professors who say that the ancestors of the Japanese were from Yunnan. They've specifically investigated this issue many times. Afterwards, there was also a TV station that made a show called ''The Origins of the Japanese People!"
Go to Lesson 
反正日本人的祖先应该是来自各地的移民，有一部分移民来自中国，他们也有本土的原住民。
fǎnzhèng rìběnrén de zǔxiān yīnggāi shì láizì gèdì de yímín ，yǒu yībùfèn yímín láizì Zhōngguó ，tāmen yě yǒu běntǔ de yuánzhùmín 。
Anyway, it seems that the ancestors of the Japanese were immigrants from many places. Some came from China, some were indigenous people.
Go to Lesson 
同种同宗是有可能的，东亚人本来就有很多相同的特征。但也说明不了中国人是日本人的祖先呀！
tóngzhǒngtóngzōng shì yǒu kěnéng de ，dōngyàrén běnlái jiù yǒu hěnduō xiāngtóng de tèzhēng 。dàn yě shuōmíngbùliǎo zhōngguórén shì rìběnrén de zǔxiān yā ！
It's very possible that we have a lot in common. There are many distinctive points of similarity among East Asian peoples. But that doesn't mean that the Chinese are the ancestors of the Japanese!
Go to Lesson 
最后起名字要遵守一些常识，第一，忌讳祖先和先贤的名字；其次，不用生冷字；再次，少用多音字；最后，忌不雅的谐音。
zuìhòu qǐ míngzì yào zūnshǒu yīxiē chángshí ，dì yī ，jìhuì zǔxiān hé xiānxián de míngzi ；qícì ，bùyòng shēnglěngzì ；zàicì ，shǎo yòng duōyīnzì ；zuìhòu ，jì bùyā de xiéyīn 。
Finally when figuring out a name you need to respect some common principles. First of all, avoid using taboo names, like those of your ancestors or distinguished sages from the past; secondly, don't use obscure characters; additionally, don't use characters with more than one pronunciation; and finally, avoid homophones of vulgar words.
Go to Lesson 
祭祖？就是祭拜祖先的意思吧，怎么祭祖呢？
jìzǔ ？jiùshì jìbài zǔxiān de yìsi ba ，zěnme jìzǔ ne ？
Worship the ancestors? You mean they offer sacrifices to the ancestors? Why do they do that?
Go to Lesson 
真奇妙，原来古猿才是我们的祖先！
zhēn qímiào ，yuánlái gǔyuán cái shì wǒmen de zǔxiān ！
That's really amazing! Prehistoric apes have been our ancestors all along!
Go to Lesson 
空落石是我们空落族的神石。石头里有我们祖先的灵魂。可是佳燕的丈夫动了邪念。
kōngluòshí shì wǒmen kōngluò zú de shén shí 。shítou lǐ yǒu wǒmen zǔxiān de línghún 。kěshì Jiāyàn de zhàngfu dòng le xiéniàn 。
The Kongluo stone is our holy stone. Inside the stone are the spirits of our ancestors. But Jiayan's husband had evil intentions.
Go to Lesson 
Go to Lesson