元祖

Chinese

		primary; first; fundamental primary; first; fundamental; dollar; (dynasty)	ancestor; forefather; grandparents
simp. and trad. (元祖)		元	祖

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): yuánzǔ

  (Zhuyin): ㄩㄢˊ ㄗㄨˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): jyun⁴ zou²

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: yuánzǔ
    • Zhuyin: ㄩㄢˊ ㄗㄨˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yuánzǔ
    • Wade–Giles: yüan²-tsu³
    • Yale: ywán-dzǔ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yuantzuu
    • Palladius: юаньцзу (juanʹczu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɥɛn³⁵ t͡su²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: jyun⁴ zou²
    • Yale: yùhn jóu
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jyn⁴ dzou²
    • Guangdong Romanization: yun⁴ zou²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jyːn²¹ t͡sou̯³⁵/

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• Middle Chinese: ngjwon tsuX

Rime
Character	元	祖
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	疑 (31)	精 (13)
Final (韻)	元 (66)	模 (23)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Closed	Open
Division (等)	III	I
Fanqie	愚袁切	則古切
Baxter	ngjwon	tsuX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ŋʉɐn/	/t͡suoX/
Pan Wuyun	/ŋʷiɐn/	/t͡suoX/
Shao Rongfen	/ŋiuɐn/	/t͡soX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ŋuan/	/t͡sɔX/
Li Rong	/ŋiuɐn/	/t͡soX/
Wang Li	/ŋĭwɐn/	/t͡suX/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ŋi̯wɐn/	/t͡suoX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	yuán	zǔ
Expected Cantonese Reflex	jyun4	zou2

Noun

元祖

1. (literary) earliest ancestor; primogenitor; progenitor
2. (literary) originator; initiator; creator; founder

   • 佛乃道德之元祖，神明之宗緒。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     佛乃道德之元祖，神明之宗绪。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: 弘明集 (四部叢刊本)/卷第一

     Fó nǎi dàodé zhī yuánzǔ, shénmíng zhī zōngxù. [Pinyin]

     Buddha is the originator of ethics, and the progenitor of deities.

Synonyms

• 始祖 (shǐzǔ)
• 鼻祖 (bízǔ)

Proper noun

元祖

1. A temple name used for Chinese or Vietnamese monarchs.

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (元祖):

• → Japanese: 元祖(がんそ) (ganso)
• → Korean: 원조(元祖) (wonjo)
• → Vietnamese: nguyên tổ (元祖)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
元	祖
がん Grade: 2	そ Grade: 5
on'yomi

Alternative spelling
元祖 (kyūjitai)

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) がんそ [gáꜜǹsò] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ɡã̠ɰ̃so̞]

Noun

元(がん)祖(そ) • (ganso) 

1. earliest ancestor; primogenitor; progenitor
2. originator; initiator; creator; founder

Antonyms

• 後継(こうけい) (kōkei)