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上司 (shàng si) — boss, superior

Definition

上司 refers specifically to one's direct superior in a workplace or organization, more formal than 老板. It is the formal counterpart to 下属 ('subordinate').

noun
bosssuperior
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 上司。
    Wǒ de shàng si jīn tiān bú zài bàn gōng shì.
    My boss is not in the office today.
  • 上司。
    Tā gāng bèi shàng si pī píng le yí dùn.
    He was just criticized by the boss.
  • 上司。
    shàng si Ràng wǒ míng tiān tí jiāo bào gào.
    The boss told me to submit the report tomorrow.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

上shànghigher
司sīofficial

The sense of 上 as higher combines with 司 as official to mean a superior.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The evidence is inconclusive: one suggestion sees 司 as a mouth giving orders beside a mark of authority, another reads that mark as a hand, and another sees it as a reversed older form.

Open 司 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Workplace & OfficeSocial Roles & Status5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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