A Sunni is a Muslim who belongs to the larger of the two main branches of Islam. About four out of five Muslims in the world are Sunni. The word is also used as an adjective — a Sunni family, a Sunni mosque, Sunni Islam.

A Sunni Sunni（遜尼派） is是 a Muslim who belongs to the larger of the two main branches of Islam屬於伊斯蘭教兩大主要派別中較大那一派的穆斯林. About four out of five Muslims in the world全世界大約五分之四的穆斯林 are Sunni是遜尼派. The word這個字 is also used as an adjective也可以當形容詞用 — a Sunni family遜尼派家庭, a Sunni mosque遜尼派清真寺, Sunni Islam遜尼派伊斯蘭.

The split with the other main branch, the Shia, goes back to a disagreement about who should lead the Muslim community after the Prophet Muhammad died. Sunnis held that the leader should be chosen by the community; Shias held that leadership belonged to the Prophet's family line.

The split with the other main branch, the Shia跟另一個主要派別什葉派（Shia）的分裂, goes back to a disagreement about who should lead the Muslim community after the Prophet Muhammad died可以追溯到先知穆罕默德過世後，人們對誰該領導穆斯林社群意見不合. Sunnis遜尼派 held that the leader should be chosen by the community主張領袖應該由社群選出來; Shias什葉派 held that leadership belonged to the Prophet's family line則主張領導權屬於先知的家族血脈.

Two things are worth knowing, though. First, the two branches share far more than they differ on — the same God, the same holy book, the same five daily prayers, the same pilgrimage.

Two things are worth knowing, though不過有兩件事值得知道. First第一, the two branches share far more than they differ on這兩個派別相同的地方，遠比不同的地方多 — the same God, the same holy book, the same five daily prayers, the same pilgrimage同一個神、同一本聖書、同樣的一天五次禮拜，還有同樣的朝聖.

Second, in the news you will often hear 'Sunni' and 'Shia' used as if they were teams in a war. In real life most people are simply born into one or the other, live next to each other, and marry each other; when there is fighting, the reasons are usually about power and land as much as about religion. So when a news report explains a conflict by saying 'Sunni versus Shia', treat that as a very short summary of something much more tangled.

Second第二, in the news you will often hear 'Sunni' and 'Shia' used as if they were teams in a war在新聞裡你常常會聽到'Sunni'和'Shia'被講得好像是戰爭裡的兩隊人馬. In real life但現實生活中 most people are simply born into one or the other大多數人只是生下來就屬於其中一派, live next to each other, and marry each other彼此比鄰而居，也彼此通婚; when there is fighting, the reasons are usually about power and land as much as about religion如果真的發生衝突，原因通常跟權力和土地的關係，不會少於跟宗教的關係. So所以 when a news report explains a conflict by saying 'Sunni versus Shia'當一則新聞報導用'遜尼對什葉'來解釋一場衝突時, treat that as a very short summary of something much more tangled把它當成一個把複雜得多的事情極度簡化過的說法就好.

It is a normal, neutral word — a person can say 'I'm Sunni' the way someone here might say 'I'm Buddhist'. Always written with a capital S.

It是 a normal, neutral word一個普通、中性的字 — a person can say 'I'm Sunni'一個人可以說'我是Sunni' the way someone here might say 'I'm Buddhist'就像這裡有人會說'我是佛教徒'一樣. Always written with a capital S永遠要用大寫S開頭.