先祖

Chinese

		early; prior; former early; prior; former; in advance; first	ancestor; forefather; grandparents
simp. and trad. (先祖)		先	祖
anagram		祖先

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): xiānzǔ

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄢ ㄗㄨˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sin¹ zou²
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): siên-chú
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): sian-chó͘

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xiānzǔ
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄢ ㄗㄨˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: sianzǔ
    • Wade–Giles: hsien¹-tsu³
    • Yale: syān-dzǔ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shiantzuu
    • Palladius: сяньцзу (sjanʹczu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵ t͡su²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: sin¹ zou²
    • Yale: sīn jóu
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sin¹ dzou²
    • Guangdong Romanization: xin¹ zou²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siːn⁵⁵ t͡sou̯³⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: siên-chú
    • Hakka Romanization System: xien´ zu`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: xian¹ zu³
    • Sinological IPA: /si̯en²⁴ t͡su³¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sian-chó͘
    • Tâi-lô: sian-tsóo
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sienzor
    • IPA (Xiamen): /siɛn⁴⁴⁻²² t͡sɔ⁵³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /siɛn³³ t͡sɔ⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /siɛn⁴⁴⁻²² t͡sɔ⁵³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /siɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡sɔ⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /siɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡sɔ⁴¹/

Noun

先祖

1. (literary) ancestors; forebears; forefathers
2. (literary) earliest ancestor; primogenitor; progenitor
3. (literary, specifically) deceased grandfather

Synonyms

• (ancestors):

• 上輩／上辈 (shàngbèi)
• 上輩子／上辈子 (shàngbèizi)
• 先人 (xiānrén)
• 先代 (xiāndài) (literary)
• 先古 (xiāngǔ) (literary)
• 先君 (xiānjūn) (literary)
• 先輩／先辈 (xiānbèi)
• 公婆 (Hokkien)
• 公媽／公妈 (Min Nan)
• 早勻／早匀 (Xiamen Hokkien)
• 父祖 (fùzǔ) (literary)
• 皇考 (huángkǎo) (archaic)
• 祖上 (zǔshàng)
• 祖先 (zǔxiān)
• 祖宗 (zǔzōng)
• 老祖宗
• 老輩／老辈 (lǎobèi)

 

• (earliest ancestor): 鼻祖 (bízǔ), 始祖 (shǐzǔ)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
先	祖
せん Grade: 1	そ > ぞ Grade: 5
on’yomi

Alternative spelling
先祖 (kyūjitai)

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) せ​んぞ [séꜜǹzò] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [sẽ̞nd͡zo̞]

Noun

先(せん)祖(ぞ) • (senzo) 

1. ancestor

Synonyms

• 祖先(そせん) (sosen)

Antonyms

• 子孫(しそん) (shison): descendant, scion