主将 (zhǔ jiāng) — (military) commanding general; key person; main leader (of a team, project, etc.); star athlete; leading player

Definition

Literally 'main general', 主将 names the top commander of an army or the lead player/captain who carries a team. In modern use it extends from military leaders to the star athlete or key person of a project.

noun
(military) commanding generalkey personmain leader (of a team, project, etc.)star athleteleading player
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 主将。
    Zhè wèi zhǔ jiāng zài zhàn chǎng shàng zhǐ huī ruò dìng.
    This commanding general directed the battle with composure.
  • 主将，。
    Tā shì wǒ men xiàng mù de zhǔ jiāng, méi yǒu tā kěn dìng bù xíng.
    He's the key person for our project; it definitely won't work without him.
  • 主将，。
    Zuò wéi qiú duì zhǔ jiāng, tā dài lǐng quán duì yíng dé le guàn jūn.
    As the star athlete of the team, he led the whole team to win the championship.

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
将jiānggeneral

The 将, general, is specified as 主, main, so it means a commanding general or star player.

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 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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