中将 (zhōng jiàng) — lieutenant general (army), vice admiral (navy)

Definition

中将 (zhōng jiàng) is the mid-tier general officer rank — one step above 少将 (major general) and one step below 上将 (general). The English gloss depends on branch: lieutenant general in the army, vice admiral in the navy.

noun
lieutenant general (army)vice admiral (navy)
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 中将。
    Tā de fù qīn céng jīng shì yí wèi zhōng jiàng.
    His father was once a lieutenant general.
  • 中将。
    Zhè wèi zhōng jiàng zài bù duì lǐ hěn yǒu wēi xìn.
    This lieutenant general is highly respected in the military.
  • 中将。
    Tā yòng le èr shí nián cái shēng dào zhōng jiàng.
    It took him twenty years to be promoted to lieutenant general.

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.

中zhōngmiddle
将jiānggeneral

中 ranks the 将 as a middle grade.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 將; 将 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat
寸寸cùnhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
爿
爿pán將jiāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 將 combines 爿, which also supplies a sound and may show a small table, with ⺼ (meat) and 寸 (hand) to picture offering meat as tribute. The simplified 将 is a later shorthand.

Open 将 →

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