外交大臣 (wài jiāo dà chén) — foreign secretary (in Britain)

Definition

The formal title for a country's chief diplomat, used for 'foreign secretary' in Britain and similar top diplomat posts elsewhere. Not the everyday word for diplomat (外交官).

noun
foreign secretary (in Britain)

Examples

  • 外交大臣。
    Yīng guó wài jiāo dà chén fā biǎo le shēng míng.
    The British foreign secretary issued a statement.
  • 外交大臣。
    Xīn rèn wài jiāo dà chén jīn tiān kāi shǐ fǎng wèn rì běn.
    The newly appointed foreign secretary begins a visit to Japan today.
  • 外交大臣。
    wài jiāo dà chén Qiáng diào le liǎng guó zhī jiān de yǒu hǎo guān xì.
    The foreign secretary emphasized the friendly relations between the two countries.

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.

外交foreign relations
外wàioutside交jiāorelations
偏正Modifier + head
大臣great minister
大dàgreat臣chénminister
偏正Modifier + head

外 “foreign” + 交 “relations” + 大 “great” + 臣 “minister” names a minister of foreign relations.

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
卜卜bǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
月
月yuè外wài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

外 pairs 卜 with 月, a crescent moon; in its older form, the 卜 part had a horizontal bar extending outward, giving the sense of outside.

Open 外 →

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

交 originally drew a human with crossed legs. In the modern shape, the upper part resembles a standing person.

Open 交 →

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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

臣 is shaped like a man's vertical eye looking downward.

Open 臣 →

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