Chinese word

神话

Pronunciation

Pinyinshén huà

Meaning

  • nounmyth

Example

小时候我常听爷爷讲神话。xiǎo shí hòu wǒ cháng tīng yé yé jiǎng shén huà

As a child, I often heard my grandfather tell myths.

Illustration for 神话 (myth)

More examples

这本书收集了很多神话故事。zhè běn shū shōu jí le hěn duō shén huà gù shì

This book collects many mythological stories.

Core concept

A shared story turns mysterious beginnings, remarkable heroes, or natural forces into a memorable cultural explanation.

Common phrases

  • 神话故事shén huà gù shì

    mythological story

  • 神话人物shén huà rén wù

    mythological figure

  • 古代神话gǔ dài shén huà

    ancient myth

Similar words

传说chuán shuō: A spoken tradition about a particular person or event, passed from one generation to another.
民间故事mín jiān gù shì: A community story passed down through generations about everyday life and local matters.
童话tóng huà: A tale for children featuring magical events, animals, or an imaginary world.
故事gù shì: A narrative that presents what happened to people or describes events in order.

Definition in Chinese

神话是民族传承中解释起源、英雄事迹或自然现象的传统故事，往往带有象征或夸张成分。shén huà shì mín zú chuán chéng zhōng jiě shì qǐ yuán yīng xióng shì jì huò zì rán xiàn xiàng de chuán tǒng gù shì wáng wǎng dài yǒu xiàng zhēng huò kuā zhāng chéng fèn

Word origin

神 (shén, "spirit or deity") points to the supernatural and 话 (huà, "speech or words") points to telling, making the compound easy to connect with stories handed down about a culture's world.

Usage tips

  • In modern Chinese, 神话 (shénhuà, "myth") can also function as a verb in the ba construction, meaning that a person is portrayed as extraordinary or ideal.

Other meanings

  • mythologynoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word