Chinese word

民族

Pronunciation

Pinyinmín zú

Meaning

  • nounethnic group

Example

不同民族的人应该互相尊重。bù tóng mín zú de rén yīng gāi hù xiāng zūn zhòng

People from different ethnic groups should respect one another.

Illustration for 民族 (ethnic group)

More examples

很多少数民族有自己独特的服饰。hěn duō shǎo shù mín zú yǒu zì jǐ dú tè de fú shì

Many ethnic minorities have their own distinctive clothing.

Core concept

A community held together by shared ancestry, language, religion, or customs and recognized as one people.

Common phrases

  • 少数民族shǎo shù mín zú

    ethnic minority

  • 民族文化mín zú wén huà

    ethnic culture

  • 民族服饰mín zú fú shì

    ethnic clothing

Similar words

种族zhǒng zú: A group of people classified by inherited physical traits or ancestry.
国籍guó jí: A person's legal membership in a particular country.
少数民族shǎo shù mín zú: An ethnic group with fewer members that preserves distinctive local culture and customs.

Definition in Chinese

指具有共同祖先、语言、文化、宗教或风俗习惯的一群人，作为一个整体在身份和文化上与其他群体区分开来。zhǐ jù yǒu gòng tóng zǔ xiān yǔ yán wén huà zōng jiào huò fēng sú xí guàn de yì qún rén zuò wéi yí gè zhéng tǐ zài shēn fèn hé wén huà shàng yǔ qí tā qún tǐ qū fēn kāi lái

Word origin

The compound 民 (mín, "people") + 族 (zú, "lineage group") combines people with a group of common descent to form the idea of a distinct cultural community.

Usage tips

  • A country can contain several 民族 (mínzú, "ethnic groups"), and one such group can extend across more than one country, so the word does not itself name a state.

Other meanings

  • ethnicitynoun
  • nationnoun

Word lists with this word