宗

Zong1
#726 most
frequent character
surname Zong

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

宗 zōng shows a building 宀 with an ancestral tablet 示 inside, a place for worshipping the dead. That gave the first meaning, a shrine or temple for ancestors. From there it grew to 'ancestor', 'clan', 'family', and 'ceremony'.

Drawn as: building; tablet for ancestors

宗 as a component in other characters

sound9 characters
综崇踪棕淙鬃粽琮腙

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