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天骄 (tiān jiāo) — lord of a northern tribal group (historical); (literary/modern) proud and talented person, prodigy

Definition

Literary title once used for rulers of northern nomadic tribes; now extended as a metaphor for a young person of outstanding talent — a 'pride of heaven' (often used in journalism or formal praise, not everyday speech).

noun
lord of a northern tribal group (historical)(literary/modern) proud and talented personprodigy

Examples

  • 天骄。
    Gǔ dài de tiān jiāo shì běi fāng bù luò de shǒu lǐng.
    The ancient Tianjiao were the leaders of northern tribes.
  • 天骄，。
    Tā shì wǒ men xué xiào de tiān jiāo, chéng jì hé tǐ yù dōu hěn yōu xiù.
    He is the pride of our school, excellent in both academics and sports.
  • 天骄。
    Zhè wèi nián qīng de tiān jiāo yíng dé le dà jiā de zūn jìng.
    This young Tianjiao earned everyone's respect.

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.

天tiānheaven
骄jiāoproud/favored

天 “heaven” + 骄 “proud/favored” means heaven’s favored one.

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
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

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 驕; 骄 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
馬馬mǎhorse
Sound part声符shēngfú
喬
喬qiáo驕jiāo
Same sound today

The traditional form 驕 pairs 馬 (horse) with 喬 for the sound; the simplified 骄 is a later shorthand.

Open 骄 →
Appears in
Personality & Traits

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