元勋 (yuán xūn) — founding hero; person of great merit

Definition

元勋 (yuán xūn) means 'founding hero' or 'person of great merit' — used almost exclusively in formal, historical contexts (e.g., 开国元勋, founding fathers of a state). It is much more elevated and literary than everyday words for a contributor or hero.

noun
founding heroperson of great merit
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 元勋。
    Tā shì kāi guó yuán xūn zhī yī.
    He is one of the founding fathers.
  • 元勋。
    Zhè xiē yuán xūn wèi gé mìng shì yè xiàn chū le shēng mìng.
    These founding heroes sacrificed their lives for the revolutionary cause.
  • 元勋。
    Guó jiā biǎo zhāng le suǒ yǒu kāi guó yuán xūn.
    The state honored all the founding heroes.

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.

元yuánfirst
勋xūnmerit

“元” conveys first or great, and “勋” refers to merit, together denoting a founding hero.

Characters in this word

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

The shape 元 shows a figure with two lines for a head, one connected to the body and one above it, emphasizing the head.

Open 元 →

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 勳; 勋 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lì
Sound part声符shēngfú
熏
熏xūn勳xūn
Same sound today

The traditional form 勳 uses 力 (strength) for meaning and 熏 for sound; the simplified 勋 is a later shorthand.

Open 勋 →

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