宗
zōng · HSK 7
school
⛩️ 宗 = roof 宀 + altar 示 = ancestral temple; now a classifier for cases/deals
Originally an ancestral shrine under a roof. As a measure word it counts discrete matters, transactions, or sums: 一宗买卖 one deal, 一宗心事 one worry. Sounds like zong, same start as zongzi.
宗 — roof 宀 + altar/show 示
宗 depicts an altar (示) under a roof (宀), picturing an ancestral shrine where offerings were made. From this concrete image it came to mean 'ancestor' and 'clan,' then extended to 'school' or 'sect' — a lineage of teaching traced back to a founding master.