About
The character "社" originates from a pictograph representing an altar for the earth god, a concept reflected in its structure which combines the radical 礻(示), denoting matters of spirit or the divine, with the component 土 meaning earth. This traditional form visually encodes its original purpose as a sacred site for communal worship and offerings to local tutelary deities. Over time, the meaning expanded from the physical place of worship to the collective group of people who gathered there, thereby shifting from a strictly religious context to a secular one denoting a community or organized group. This semantic evolution led to its contemporary meanings of "society" and "association", where the sense of a collective body of people remains central, having abstracted away from the literal earthen altar while retaining its foundational idea of a bonded community.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
我参加了学校社团。
这个社区非常安静。
社会需要更多志愿者。
公司经常组织社交活动。
他负责报社的编辑工作。
他们正在开展社会实践活动。
社会保障体系正在不断完善。
她的社交媒体影响力很大。