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  5. 祖先

祖先 (zǔ xiān): Ancestors (Noun) — Meaning & Stroke Order

HSK 2.0Level 6
HSK 3.0Level 6
1.

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Stroke order animation for 祖先
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2.

Free Printable Worksheet: 祖先

祖先 writing worksheet PDF preview
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3.

Character Breakdown

祖 • zǔ • ancestor, forefather
zǔ祖

ancestor, forefather

先 • xiān • first • HSK 2.0 L3
HSK 3
xiān先

first

Word Info

Pinyinzǔ xiān
Meaningancestors; forefathers
Characters2
SyntaxNoun

HSK 6 Words

More vocabulary at the same HSK level as 祖先.

  • 便利biàn lìconvenient; easy
  • 背叛bèi pànbetray; forsake
  • 博览会bó lǎn huìfair; exhibition; exposition
  • 奔波bēn bōrush about; be on the go
  • 拜年bài niánpay a New Year call
  • 不敢当bù gǎn dāngI really don't deserve it; you flatter me
  • 操作cāo zuòoperate; manipulate; handle
  • 报答bào dárepay; pay back
  • 奔驰bēn chírun quickly; speed; gallop
  • 不像话bú xiàng huàunreasonable; absurd
  • 并非bìng fēireally not
  • 布置bù zhìfix up; arrange; decorate
View all HSK 6 words →

Words Sharing Characters

More common words that include characters from 祖先.

Words with 祖
  • 祖国zǔ guóhomeland; native land
  • 祖父zǔfùgrandfather [father's father]
  • 祖传zǔchuánhanded down through generations / ancestral
祖宗
zǔzong
ancestor / progenitor
  • 祖母zǔmǔgrandmother
  • 祖籍zǔjíancestral home / native place
  • 佛祖fó zǔBuddha (the founder of Buddhism)
  • 彭祖péng zǔPeng Zu (legendary figure of longevity)
    • Words with 先
    • 先生xiān shengMr; Sir
    • 首先shǒu xiānfirst
    • 事先shì xiānin advance; beforehand
    • 先后xiān hòuearly or late
    • 优先yōu xiāntake precedence; prior
    • 先前xiān qiánbefore; previously
    • 先进xiān jìnadvanced
    • 原先yuán xiānformer; original
    4.

    How to Use 祖先 in Sentences

    Verb + Object
    jì纪
    niàn念
    zǔ祖
    xiān先
    neutral
    commemorate ancestors
    jì祭
    bài拜
    zǔ祖
    xiān先
    neutral
    worship ancestors
    Measure Word + Nounwith位
    yí一
    wèi位
    zǔ祖
    xiān先
    Noun + Possessive + Nounwith智慧
    zǔ祖
    xiān先
    de的
    zhì智
    huì慧
    Possessive + Nounwith我们
    wǒ我
    men们
    de的
    zǔ祖
    xiān先
    5.

    Example Sentences with 祖先

    wǒ我
    de的
    zǔ祖
    xiān先
    lái来
    zì自
    neutral
    an ancestor
    neutral
    ancestral wisdom
    neutral
    our ancestors
    zhōng中
    guó国
    。
    My ancestors came from China.
    wǒ我
    men们
    yīng应
    dāng当
    míng铭
    jì记
    zǔ祖
    xiān先
    de的
    zhì智
    huì慧
    ，
    bìng并
    jiāng将
    qí其
    róng融
    rù入
    xiàn现
    dài代
    shēng生
    huó活
    。
    We should remember the wisdom of our ancestors and integrate it into modern life.
    nán难
    dào道
    nǐ你
    bù不
    jué觉
    de得
    zǔ祖
    xiān先
    de的
    fèn奋
    dòu斗
    jīng精
    shén神
    zhí值
    dé得
    wǒ我
    men们
    xué学
    xí习
    ma吗
    ？
    Don't you think the fighting spirit of our ancestors is worth learning from?
    wǒ我
    men们
    jiā家
    zú族
    měi每
    nián年
    dū都
    huì会
    jì祭
    bài拜
    zǔ祖
    xiān先
    ，
    biǎo表
    dá达
    duì对
    tā他
    men们
    de的
    jìng敬
    yì意
    。
    Our family worships our ancestors every year to show respect for them.
    tā他
    cóng从
    wèi未
    rèn认
    zhēn真
    liǎo了
    jiě解
    guò过
    zǔ祖
    xiān先
    de的
    lì历
    shǐ史
    ，
    zhè这
    ràng让
    wǒ我
    gǎn感
    dào到
    yí遗
    hàn憾
    。
    He has never seriously understood the history of his ancestors, which I find regrettable.