Dictionary › 祖

祖

zǔ

HSK 6 Character

What 祖 means

1. ancestor
2. forefather
3. grandparents

Other readings

祖 is 多音字 — it is read more than one way, and the reading changes the meaning.

• Zǔsurname Zu

Example sentences

• 祖国到处是春天
  Zǔguó dàochù shì chūntiān
  It's spring everywhere in the motherland.
• 我的祖父早起。
  My grandfather gets up early.
• 我爱我的祖国。
  I love my motherland.
• 我祖母很老了。
  My grandmother is very old.
• 我深爱我的祖国。
  Wǒ shēn'ài wǒ de zǔguó.
  I love my country with every fiber of my being.
• 我的祖父很长寿。
  Wǒ de zǔfù hěn chángshòu.
  My grandfather lived a long life.

Words starting with 祖

• 祖国zǔ guómotherland
• 祖先zǔ xiānancestors; forebears; (biology) ancestral species; ancient species from which present-day…
• 祖父zǔ fùfather's father; paternal grandfather
• 祖母zǔ mǔfather's mother; paternal grandmother
• 祖宗zǔ zōngancestor; forebear
• 祖师zǔ shīfounder (of a craft, religious sect etc)
• 祖籍zǔ jíancestral hometown; original domicile (and civil registration)
• 祖传zǔ chuánpassed on from ancestors; handed down from generation to generation
• 祖辈zǔ bèiancestors; forefathers; ancestry
• 祖父母zǔ fù mǔpaternal grandparents
• 祖坟zǔ fénancestral tomb
• 祖师爷zǔ shī yéfounder (of a craft, religious sect etc)
• 祖祖辈辈zǔ zǔ bèi bèifor generations; from generation to generation
• 祖上zǔ shàngancestors; forebears
• 祖居zǔ jūformer residence; one's original home
• 祖屋zǔ wūancestral house
• 祖系zǔ xìancestry; lineage; pedigree
• 祖训zǔ xùnancestral precepts
• 祖语zǔ yǔproto-language; parent language (linguistics)
• 祖鲁Zǔ lǔZulu
• 祖母绿zǔ mǔ lǜemerald
• 祖冲之Zǔ chōng zhīZu Chongzhi (429-500), astronomer and mathematician
• 祖鲁人Zǔ lǔ rénZulu people
• 祖鸟zǔ niǎodinosaur ancestor of birds

Words containing 祖

• 佛祖Fó zǔBuddha; founder of a buddhist sect
• 外祖母wài zǔ mǔmother's mother; maternal grandmother
• 始祖shǐ zǔprimogenitor; founder of a school or trade
• 外祖父wài zǔ fùmaternal grandfather (i.e. mother's father)
• 太祖tài zǔGreat Ancestor (posthumous title, e.g. for the founder of a dynasty)
• 先祖xiān zǔ(literary) my deceased grandfather; (literary) ancestors
• 宋祖英Sòng Zǔ yīngSong Zuying (1966-), Chinese folk music singer
• 曾祖父zēng zǔ fùfather's father's father; paternal great-grandfather
• 鼻祖bí zǔthe earliest ancestor; originator (of a tradition, school of thought etc)
• 祭祖jì zǔto offer sacrifices to one's ancestors
• 妈祖Mā zǔMatsu, name of a sea goddess still widely worshipped on the SE China coast and in SE Asia
• 家祖jiā zǔ(polite) my paternal grandfather
• 师祖shī zǔteacher of one's teacher (esp. in a lineage)
• 曾祖zēng zǔgreat-grandfather (father of one's paternal grandfather)
• 正祖Zhèng zǔJeonjo (1752-1800), 22nd king of Korean Joseon dynasty
• 神祖shén zǔGodhead
• 积祖jī zǔmany generations of ancestors
• 圣祖shèng zǔdivine ancester; patron saint
• 返祖fǎn zǔ(biology) to exhibit atavism; to revert to ancestral traits
• 远祖yuǎn zǔa remote ancestor
• 显祖xiǎn zǔancestors (old)
• 马祖Mǎ zǔMatsu Islands off Fujian, administered by Taiwan
• 元世祖Yuán Shì zǔlit. progenitor of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), title of Khubilai Khan (1215-1294)…
• 元太祖Yuán Tài zǔposthumous title of Genghis Khan 成吉思汗

Characters built on 且

These share the phonetic component 且 (qiě), which is why their readings rhyme. Learning them as a family is far cheaper than learning them one at a time.

• 组zǔto form; to organize; group
• 助zhùto help; to assist
• 租zūto hire; to rent; to charter
• 阻zǔto hinder; to block; to obstruct
• 粗cū(of sth long) wide; thick; (of sth granular) coarse; (of a voice) gruff
• 诅zǔcurse; swear (oath)
• 沮jǔto destroy; to stop
• 咀jǔto chew; to masticate

Characters that look like 祖

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 档dàng(bound form) shelves (for files); pigeonholes; (bound form) files…
• 桃táopeach
• 袜wàsocks; stockings
• 栖qīto perch; to rest (of birds); to dwell
• 桓huánChinese soapberry (Sapindus mukurossi); big; pillar (old)

Sounds the same

Read zǔ, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 组to form; to organize; group
• 阻to hinder; to block; to obstruct
• 诅curse; swear (oath)
• 珇carving on jade
• 俎a stand for food at sacrifice