Dictionary › 祖先

祖先

zǔ xiān

HSK 5 2-character word

What 祖先 means

1. ancestors; forebears
2. biologyancestral species; ancient species from which present-day species evolved

The characters in 祖先

• 祖zǔancestor; forefather; grandparents
• 先xiānbeforehand; first; earlier; at first; originally; for the time being; for now

Example sentences

• 她编织的篮子的样式，与她生活在沙漠中收获水果和蔬​​菜的祖先相同。
  She weaves her baskets in the same style as her ancestors who lived in the desert and harvested fruit and vegetables.
• 孔子说："像夏禹的为人，我找不到可以指责的漏洞。自己吃着菲薄的饮食，而却用丰厚祭品祭拜祖先与神明；自己平时穿粗劣的衣裳，而在祭祀时穿戴华服礼帽；自己住小房子，却尽力开通水道沟渠。像夏禹这样的人，我实在找不到可以指责的漏洞了。"
  Confucius said: " Yu the Great's conduct, I could not point out any flaws. He consumes meager amount of food, while offering boastful riches to the Gods and ancestors; He always don the crudest attire, but wears lavish garments when worshipping; He resides in a small house, yet forges water ways and ditches with all his might. Figures like Yu the Great, I honestly cannot point out any reprehensible flaws."

Words containing 祖先

• 直系祖先zhí xì zǔ xiāndirect ancestor