军权 (jūn quán) — military leadership; command of armed forces

Definition

军权 (jūnquán) means the authority or power to command the armed forces, distinct from 政权 (political power) or 王权 (royal power). It emphasizes control over the military itself, not just leadership of troops.

noun
military leadershipcommand of armed forces

Examples

  • 军权，。
    Tā zhǎng wò le quán guó de jūn quán, chéng wéi shí jì shang de tǒng zhì zhě.
    He seized military command of the whole country and became the de facto ruler.
  • 军权。
    Xiàn fǎ guī dìng zǒng tǒng shì jūn quán de zuì gāo yōng yǒu zhě.
    The constitution stipulates that the president is the supreme holder of military power.
  • 军权。
    Zhè wèi jiāng jūn bǎ jūn quán jiāo gěi le nián qīng de jì chéng rén.
    This general handed over military leadership to a young successor.

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.

军jūnmilitary
权quánpower

军 refers to military affairs, and 权 means power or command.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 軍; 军 is its simplified writing.

  • 車車jūcart; chariot
  • 勹勹bāoto surround

In the traditional form 軍, 車 shows the chariot sense, while the part now written 勹 is a sound part, not the 'surround' 勹. Simplified 军 is a later shorthand.

Open 军 →

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 權; 权 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
雚
雚guàn權quán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 權 shows 木, a tree, with 雚 giving the sound; it named a kind of tree and was used for a standard weight. The simplified 权 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 权 →

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