(shén shèng) - sacred, holy, divine in Mandarin
shénshèngTraditional: 神聖
Translation
sacred, holy, divine
Word origin
A compound of 神 (shén, god, spirit) and 圣 (shèng, holy, a sage). 圣 first described a person of perfect wisdom, and the pairing gives the sense of something set apart and inviolable.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 神 (shén, god) + 圣 (shèng, holy, sage)
Stroke order
神
圣
Examples
。
This is a sacred place.
。
Protecting children is the sacred duty of parents.
氛。
The atmosphere in the church feels holy.
。
He regards this job as something sacred.
顶。
There is a sacred stone at the top of the mountain.
神圣 (shén shèng) means sacred or holy: places of worship, oaths, duties, rights. Its most common home outside religion is political and legal writing, where 神圣的权利 and 神圣的领土 are set phrases.
It behaves as a normal adjective, so it takes 很 and takes 的 before a noun: 很神圣, 神圣的责任. There is also the derived noun 神圣性, the quality of being sacred, which turns up in essays.
The trap is weight. English uses sacred loosely, as in my Sunday lie-in is sacred, and that joke does not carry across. 神圣 is solemn every time you say it, so an offhand 我的假期很神圣 sounds either odd or grandiose. For the light sense, say something like 谁也不能碰.
Where this fits
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神圣: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "神圣" (sacred, holy, divine): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 53.