TongTong
Sign in

伯爵 (bó jué) — earl; count (noble title)

Definition

noun
earlcount (noble title)
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • ，伯爵。
    Nà cì wǔ huì shàng, bó jué fēi cháng shòu huān yíng.
    At that ball, the count was very popular.
  • 伯爵。
    Tā jià gěi le yí wèi yīng guó bó jué.
    She married an English earl.
  • 伯爵。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō lǐ de bó jué shì gè huài rén.
    The count in this novel is a bad person.

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.

伯bóearl
爵juérank

伯 is the earl rank, and 爵 means noble rank, so 伯爵 is an earl or count.

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái伯bó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

伯 pairs 人 (person) with 白, which gives its sound.

Open 伯 →

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

爵 originally pictured a sparrow-shaped wine vessel, sometimes with a hand holding it. In the modern form, the vessel's parts were reshaped and separated.

Open 爵 →
Appears in
Identity & Titles5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.