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主导 (zhǔ dǎo) — (verb) to lead, to dominate, to be the driving force behind; (noun) leading role, dominant position, dominance

Definition

主导 means 'to lead / dominant' — used when one force shapes the direction of events (a factor, trend, or ideology), whereas 领导 refers to a person leading people or an organization.

verb
to leadto dominateto be the driving force behind
noun
leading roledominant positiondominance

Examples

  • ，主导。
    Zài zhè ge xiàng mù zhōng, tā de yì jiàn qǐ le zhǔ dǎo zuò yòng.
    In this project, his opinion played a leading role.
  • 主导。
    Shì chǎng lì liàng zhǔ dǎo le jīng jì fā zhǎn de fāng xiàng.
    Market forces dominated the direction of economic development.
  • 主导。
    Bú yào bèi gè rén qíng xù zhǔ dǎo nǐ de pàn duàn.
    Don't let personal emotions dominate your judgment.

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.

主zhǔmain
导dǎoguide

主 gives the idea of main, and 导 gives guide; together they mean leading or to guide.

Characters in this word

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

The old forms that became 主 showed a lamp or torch with a flame at the top; other forms showed wood on fire or a spirit tablet.

Open 主 →

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 導; 导 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
寸寸cùnhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
道
道dào導
Same sound today

The traditional form 導 pairs 道 (path) as the sound part with 寸 (hand), giving the sense of leading someone. The simplified 导 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 导 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Management

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